So This is Love
by ghostanimal
Summary: On a typical day at the college, Jasmine Fenton meets someone who changes her life. JazzxOC; Co-written with Trevor the Enchantor; Rating may change; NOT DISCONTINUED, just hitaus
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I wish I wish I owned Danny Phantom! Desiree: -turns me into Butch Hartman- AHHHHHHHHH! CHANGE ME BACK CHANGE ME BACK! -is changed back-

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**I know. WHY ARE YOU STARTING ANOTHER FANFICTION YOU CRAZY PERSON! Well this is a co-written fanfiction so it's going to actually be finished, so shut up. This is co-written with Trevor The Enchantor. The OC is, like almost every OC I have, based on a real life person. **

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Jazz muttered another quick apology as she bumped into somebody again. She knew that Hartman University of Law was large, but she didn't know that the place was crammed with students. Students of all shapes, sizes, histories, races and both genders attended there.

"The things I do for Danny," she mumbled under her breath as she pulled her books closer to her, huffing unhappily as she weaved through the campus crowd. It's true; Jazz was accepted into Harvard with a full scholarship…but it was so far away. What if something happened to Danny? Hartman University of Law was the closest school within a thirty mile radius that taught what she wanted to major in.

She suddenly dashed away from the crowd into a Starbucks. Breathing in the scent of fresh coffee, she walked over to the counter. The Starbucks was empty, save for a few college students typing away rapidly at laptops with some gulping down their drinks in between. her roommate was curled up on a corner chair, sipping from her cup as her mind was lost in a book.

"Regular coffee with cream please," she told the acne-covered boy behind the counter as she pulled out her Starbucks card. It was Danny's "going away" gift. He saved up and put almost seventy dollars on the card for her, a real sweet gift.

"Card was declined," the boy shyly told her, shifting a bit uncomfortably as he handed it back to her. "Order's three fifty, but there's only a dollar fifteen on there."

Jazz blinked in amazement. She drunk that much coffee already? No matter, she should still have that five dollar bill on her. She reached into her pocket and felt a wave of embarrassment hit her. She didn't feel any money, swearing in her head as she remember buying coffee earlier that morning before her first class.

"I don't have any cash on me," she said a bit embarrassed, her cheeks flushing a bright pink. The boy nodded understandingly before he began to delete her request.

"I'll pay for it," one of the boys hidden behind his laptop spoke up as he took out his wallet, standing up. He walked over to her, and Jazz realized that it was that one slightly-overweight boy in the library that always often talked to himself as he searched the giant library.

"Oh, that's okay," she immediately replied.

"No, it's fine," he told her as he pulled out a five to the boy. He took the money and put it in the register before handing the boy the change.

"Would you like a receipt?" he asked the two, looking back and forth. Both shook their heads no. He shrugged and a receipt printed out, only to be thrown into the trash can. "Name?"

"Jazz," she told him. The worker nodded and wrote "Jazz" in sloppy letters before checking the orders and passing it off to a pretty red-head who began to expertly make the coffee.

"That was really sweet of you," Jazz admitted to the strange guy as they stepped off to the side so that another laptop person could order something from another worker.

"No problem. Crap! My laptop!" he said as he rushed over to his laptop. He quickly saved everything before shutting it down. He put it into his backpack before slinging it over a shoulder. "Enjoy your coffee."

Jazz immediately thanked the worker who just then handed her the coffee before hurrying after him, coffee in one hand and two books in the other.

"Wait!" she called after him before she managed to catch up. The crowd was thankfully thinning, so she caught up with him easier. "What's your name?"

The boy glanced at her before shifting his backpack slightly in discomfort.

"Tristan," he replied briefly.

"I like that name," Jazz commented, smiling at him. He spared her only another quick glance, which disappointed Jazz slightly. He had cute blue eyes.

"It has Celtic origins, but its meaning has been lost. Might be derived from the Old Celtic name Drysdan. The sources through which this name has come to us have associated it with the Latin 'tristis' and French 'triste', which means sad, which fits well with the famous story of Tristan and Isolde. In the story - which varies, Tristan is a knight who is sent by King Mark of Cornwall to fetch Isolde of Ireland, who King Mark is to marry. Tristan and Isolde fall in love, but Isolde has to marry the King, so their love is doomed. Their story was the subject of Wagner's opera 'Tristan and Isolde'," he replied. Jazz blinked before laughing briefly. He felt a little stupid. Did he ramble again? He did, didn't he? Could he get any stupider? His past experiences with girls taught him again and again to not ramble like an idiot. Then again, only an idiot wouldn't learn from his experiences. Did she think he was weird now? Or just stupid? Wait, she's still here?

"Never met anybody who knew so much about their own name before," she admitted as she took extra steps to keep up with his faster pace. He glanced towards her five minutes later and was surprised to find that she was still there.

"Uh…wanna sit down for a moment?" he suggested, fearing the answer. What if that came off as creepy? But he had no worries, for she smiled and nodded.

"Sure. There's a bench over there," she said, nodding her head towards a small bench. He followed her over there. She gave a slightly dramatic sigh as she dropped her books and messenger bag onto the bench before plopping down. Tristan was more graceful, gently putting his bag next to hers and sitting on the other side of it.

"So…uh…um…enjoying the coffee?" he asked, feeling awkward and nervous. He fiddled with the bottom of his shirt, occasionally pulling on it in an attempt to cool some of the nervous sweat that was beginning to form.

"Yes, very much," she said, smiling brightly at him. He was a tad overweight and seemed kind of nerdy, but he also seemed pretty sweet and was cute. Especially his eyes. The brightest blue she'd ever seen, even brighter than Danny's. "Thanks again for it."

"No problem," he mumbled, biting his bottom lip slightly and fiddling with the bottom of his shirt. He didn't look at her, but instead his hands. She still caught glimpses of his eyes. "Tristan Thomason's Twisted Tales huh?"

"Hmm?" Jazz was forced to snap out of her staring. "Oh, yeah. A friend gave that to me to read. She's a big fan of the writing, but thinks the author's kind of stupid for getting some things wrong."

"Do you like it?" he asked, scooting a little bit forward in interest.

"Haven't read it yet," she admitted. "Been kind of busy with the whole freshman year of college thing…so…yeah…you like it?"

"I wrote it," Tristan admitted a bit quietly, shrugging his shoulder slightly as he picked up his book and flipped through the pages.

"You wrote that?" she asked in amazement, raising an eyebrow. He just nodded. "That's so cool! I'll be sure to read it and let you know what I think."

"I don't think we'll be seeing each other much, with me being a Senior and you're a Freshman," he said with a small smile. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Do you have a phone?" she asked. Tristan nodded, taking his phone out of his pocket due to habit. Jazz took it and began to mess with it for a quick moment before pulling out her own phone. After a moment, she handed it back. "There, I put my number in. I'm Jazz, by the way."

"I already know," he said. He immediately froze. Was that creepy? That he already knew her name? He quickly added, "The Starbucks thing."

"Oh yeah," she said, smiling as she stood up. She managed to shove the text book into the already crowded bag before putting it on her shoulder again. She took the book from Tristan before picking up her coffee cup. "If I don't call you later today, call me tomorrow. I'm a fast reader. I'll most likely be finished with it."

Tristan just nodded silently. She gave a half wave with the Starbucks hand before turning around and jogging slightly to a class. Tristan just bit his lip a bit nervously before standing up. He opened his phone and glanced into the contacts under J. Jazz's number was programmed in there as she said. He closed his phone and put it back in his pocket before slinging his backpack over his shoulders and walking home.

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Jazz stared at the textbook that was propped up with her knees as she leaned more into the pillows. She was getting tired, the black words blending together and the pictures becoming a tad fuzzy. Her eyes were beginning to drop. Glancing at the clock, she scowled slightly. It was only seven in the evening! Why was she so tired? She remembered countless times she spent almost all night studying, sometimes managing to go two days without a moment of sleep thanks to coffee and Red Bull.

A slight vibration along with the soft classical music of Mozart filled the small dorm room. Jazz shifted her position to take out her cell phone and glanced at the caller ID. She smiled as her heart pumped a bit faster in excitement, some butterflies making their way to her stomach as she answered the call.

"Hey," she said into the phone, using her shoulder to prop it as she closed the textbook. Sitting up, she set it in front of her before crossing her legs and holding it to her ear.

"You sound sleepy. Did I wake you up?" the voice asked. Jazz blushed slightly at the words. "I can call back at another time."

"I am sleepy, but I wasn't napping," she replied, smiling to herself. "Don't worry about it, Tristan." A death glare was sent when her roommate rose her eyebrow knowingly. The response was a giggle, the word "Lovebirds" before her attention was focused back onto her textbook, a few giggles still escaping. Jazz ignored her.

"Oh good. I was scared I woke you up," Tristan responded, a small sigh of relief escaping him. Jazz thought it was adorable how he was concerned that he woke her up. "Anyway, did you read the book?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah! I loved it," she said as she got up. She grabbed her dorm room key before walking out the escape the giggles and soft teases of her roommate. She walked down the hall, wondering if the small coffee shop down the corner was still open. "It was so well-written, deep, really personal. The originality was fantastic. I couldn't put it down."

"I'm glad you liked it," he said, sounding a bit shy. Jazz smiled to herself.

"I loved it," she corrected. "In fact, if you don't mind…wanna talk about it over a lunch date tomorrow?"

"Date? Uh…I'm not sure…"

"What?" Jazz asked with a small frown. "Do you not like me?"

"Wha-? Oh! It's not that…just…you know…nevermind. Sure," he replied. "How about we meet at eleven-thirty?"

"Sounds great."

"I'll see you there." He hung up and Jazz began to get ready. True, she had a psychology class at 9, but it ended in more than enough time to meet him.

She wasn't paying as much attention as she usually did, her mind preoccupied with the coming meeting. Jazz knew Tristan to some extent, but they had never talked that much before. She generally saw him in the library, wearing a grey or black shirt and shorts, even when it was freezing outside.

After what seemed like forever the class ended and she almost rushed out of the door to get ready for her... did it qualify as a date? _"Maybe; why would I be this nervous otherwise?"_ she asked herself. She entered her dorm room and gave a sigh of relief. Her roommate had a class right now, or she'd be teased mercilessly. After snooping around the room, she came across a nice t-shirt with shorts. She glanced in the mirror, briefly wondered if she should put on a small touch of make-up. After a small internal debate, she put on a small touch of eye shadow and put her hair in a low ponytail. Before she left for college, she cut it to a more grown-up shoulder length style.

After this, she rushed to make sure she was there on time. Jazz arrived at the nearby restaurant. She glanced around inside from the window and around before sighing in relief. She wasn't late. Now to wait for Tristan to arrive. Once her eyes spotted him, she waved in greeting and to let him know she was there. He was wearing his usual attire, but it was fine with her. Tristan was around 5'10, a few inches taller than she was. He had some weight on him, but it was obvious he had some muscle behind it.

"It's good to see you." Tristan remarked, looking at her. He extended his hand as a gesture. He considered telling her she looked attractive, but thought better of it. No need to scare her off just yet.

"Thanks; you too." Jazz decided to take his hand. She wanted to hug him, but didn't want to appear too forward. They walked inside the restaurant where Tristan found a table. "I think you're supposed to wait for them to escort you here."

"Don't worry; they know me here." Tristan shrugged as he sat down. Hopefully, he had enough money with him for this. He ordered a large plate of fries and a diet pepsi with no ice. Jazz asked for soup and a chicken salad with a Sprite. They waited around 10 minutes for their food to arrive, neither of them saying much.

The instant Tristan got his fries, he started pouring salt and pepper on them. Jazz raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. He picked up a fork, but wasn't very good at using it.

"You must like fries a lot," Jazz commented as they ate. Tristan just smiled slightly and shrugged as he popped a fry into his mouth. "When did you start writing?"

"Seven," he replied a bit quietly. It was nerve-racking. He wasn't sure about Jazz, but he hadn't been on a date in a while. He could feel himself start to sweat a little in nervousness. What if he said something wrong and she ended up hating him? Not the first time that happened. What if this was a date purely to laugh at him later with her friends or worse, a pity date? Should he continue the subject? Would doing that make him seem self-centered? Should he change it to something else? To what? Something about her? What should he ask? Something about her family? What if that led to a discussion about his family? Should he ask where she was from? Would that make him sound like a stalker? He didn't want to risk being put in jail. Tristan felt his heart race and struggled to calm it.

"I'm impressed; I don't know anyone who started writing that early." She remarked. He was obviously an intelligent person, maybe someone to match her.

Thankfully, he didn't have to think of something to ask her, because once she finished chewing, she asked him another question.

"Do you like your roommate?" Jazz asked him, taking another bite of salad.

"I don't have one. I live with my stepfather and mom," he replied, nibbling on more fries. "What about you?"

"I have a roommate, but she likes to tease me," Jazz admitted.

"What about?" he asked. He decided that it was easier to keep the conversation on her.

"She likes to tease about us," she replied as she took another bite. He froze. Were rumors going around about them? Did people think he was abusing or mistreating her? They weren't even a couple! Were they? They were on a date, so did they mean they were boyfriend-girlfriend? People have dated without becoming girlfriend-boyfriend, but was Jazz one of those people? Did she consider them a couple? Was this even a romantic date or a casual, friendly one? Should he ask her? Would she get upset? Was she that type?

"What about us?" he asked, almost scared of the answer. He didn't need more people accusing him of crimes. This was like high school all over again, except he could be tried as an adult now and he was so close to graduating that he could lose his degree before he even got it.

"She thinks we're a couple," she shrugged as she continued to eat calmly as Tristan was on the verge of a panic attack. Did that mean she didn't view them as a couple? Did he even want to be her boyfriend? She was pretty and smart, but so were his other girlfriends.

Jazz smiled at him, noticing that he seemed nervous. She shrugged it off as it being his first date in a while. There was something special about him. His eyes were so enchanting, being a beautiful shade of blue. They expressed every emotion strongly, shining slightly when he gave the rare smile and the way they seemed distance when he seemed to be spaced out.

"Why does she think that?" He grabbed two more fries with his fork and gulped them down. His plate was only half full now. It had been around 3 years since he had dated anyone, and he hoped this wouldn't end the same way.

"Oh, my roommate always does that to me. I've mentioned you to her."

"And what did you say?" Tristan tried to keep his voice casual.

"I told her you were smart and that I had seen you around the college." Jazz also let slip that she thought Tristan was quite handsome although for some reason, she couldn't say that.

"I'm not as smart at you. Take a look at your grades. I'm surprised you're not studying at a place like Harvard."

"I probably could have gone, but I wanted to stay near Amity. Besides, I'd miss my family." Actually, she stayed close so Danny would be able to rely on her without her being hundreds of miles away. His powers had grown considerably, but she didn't feel comfortable leaving him by himself. With her parents, who knew what they'd end up accidently doing.

"Any siblings?"

"Yes, I have a little brother. His name's Danny. He just turned sixteen about four months ago. He can be a pain sometimes, but I still love him. How about you?"

"I have a little sister. She's about your age, maybe a month younger."

"Do you get along?"

"I suppose; you?" Tristan felt uncomfortable talking about his family, so he changed the subject.

"We generally get along pretty well."

"Well, my book seems to be fairly popular. Okay, it's a collection of short stories, but never mind that. How did you learn about it?"

"One of my brother's best friends, who's kind of my friend too, told me about it." Sam had read the book and while she admitted it was well written, she accused him of distorting the facts.

"I know there's some controversy over it. Well, they can burn my book for all I care, as long as they buy it first." He gave a small smile at that. Jazz giggled slightly as she picked at her salad.

_He looks wonderful when he smiles. Why doesn't he do it more often?_ Jazz thought to herself, looking into his blue eyes again. "I'm sure people don't hate it that much. How long have you wanted to become an author?"

"Since I was about 13; I wrote my first novel then." It surprised Tristan that she was interested in what he had to say, especially about his writing. "I'm hoping to become a best-seller one day."

"Keep it up and I'm sure you will." Some of his stories frightened her, especially one of them. It centered about a battered wife who ultimately killed her husband and children before committing suicide. Still, she saw a message in it and he had a valid point.

"Thanks; maybe one day I'll manage it. Your interest is in psychology, right? Is it just an interest or do you hope to become a therapist?"

"The latter; I helped counsel students when I was still at Casper High."

"I once considered it, but I can't read people to save my life, so I needed to find something else." By this point, they had almost finished with their food. "I'm working on becoming a paralegal."

"So you're going to law?"

"Yes, but I haven't decided which specific field to enter. However, one thing I know I don't want to go into is family law; too vicious for my liking."

"Wish you luck; so what are your interests?" She looked at the bill they were given.

"Besides writing, I waste my time on the computer. I listen to a few things and talk to a couple people online. I look up various things that catch my interest." _Not sure if you'd react well to what I research_, though, Tristan thought.

"You must have done research with those stories of yours. I was impressed by them."

"Yeah, but researching them was just a bundle of laughs, I can tell you that. Still, I wanted to write a good and accurate story." He looked down at the bill; it was 15.12. "2.27."

"What?"

"That's going to be the tip; 2.27."

"How did you do that so fast?" Seemed like Tristan was even smarter than she thought. Even Jazz couldn't have done it in her head that quickly.

"I don't know, but I guess I can do that." He shrugged, not used to being praised. They got their things together, as Tristan got a to-go cup of soda and they walked out the door.

"I have to say, I really had fun."

"Me too; it's been a while since I hung out with someone outside school." It had been years, but he didn't want to point that out.

"I hope we can do this again soon." With others, Jazz would have waited for them to ask, but she doubted Tristan would do so. She saw another rare smile on his face; he really needed to do that more often.

"I'll call you." It would have to be soon, though. Tristan didn't want to forget, especially since she seemed to be a kind girl. He was still nervous, but not quite as much as before. He wanted to take her into his arms, but refrained.

Jazz gave him a quick hug and walked back to the college, a giant grin on her face the whole trip.

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	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I wish I wish I owned Danny Phantom! Desiree: -turns me into Butch Hartman- AHHHHHHHHH! CHANGE ME BACK CHANGE ME BACK! -is changed back-

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Jazz smiled as she noticed Tristan walk up. She waved to grab his attention, which was successful. He smiled and gave a half-wave back as he walked a little faster to open the door for her.

What a gentleman, she thought as she walked inside, him following. The sound of the bowling balls hitting the floor and the pins hit their ears as they entered the bowling alley.

"Just to warn you," she told him as they made their way to the counter. Tristan pulled out his wallet and began to ask the person behind the counter for a lane, requesting only three games. "I really suck at bowling."

"I do too," he admitted as the person began to enter the information. "Want bumpers?"

"Please."

Tristan smiled slightly and requested bumpers. The person behind the counter took a second glance at the two college kids wanting bumpers, but just shrugged his shoulders and put that down.

"Shoe size?" he asked, looking at them.

"Seven," Jazz told him, quickly taking off her shoe and handing it to him in exchange for the bowling shoes he put on the counter.

"Eleven," he said, following the action. He took off his boot and exchanged it for the bowling shoes handed to him. "I have wide feet." He offered by way of explanation.

They took the shoes and walked to Lane 13. It felt a little awkward walking with only one shoe on in a public place. Jazz immediately sat at the chair where you put in your name.

"Do you want to go first?" she asked him as she got the name screen.

"Ladies first," was the reply as the dark haired boy tied the laces of the first shoe into a bow before taking off his other shoe and slipping on the bowling shoe. Jazz just nodded as she typed her name in first, then Tristan's. A few buttons later brought them to the home screen, where it flashed her name.

Jazz quickly began to put on her shoes.

"Do you want me to order us a drink?" he asked, glancing at the snack bar where a bunch of people were getting random foods and drinks.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Sure. Thanks. Uh…Sprite please," she replied as she began to tie the laces of her second shoe.

Tristan walked off as Jazz quickly tied her hair back before picking up a pink bowling ball. Images of Danny bowling back during the "Fenton Family Bonding Nights" came to mind, and she attempted to copy her little brother the bowling prodigy.

She hit one pin.

She groaned as she noticed the person next to her, an eleven year old girl, getting a strike before jumping up and down in excitement. This was going to be a long date.

Jazz tried to remember exactly how Danny bowled. He did have a two-hundred and fifty average, since he had been playing for many years. She frantically tried to remember and once again, copied his move. The ball messily zoomed from side to side, hitting the bumpers before going exactly where the first ball went. No pins. She glared at the little animation of the bowling ball cutting a circle around the pin, but he fell through instead.

The score board proudly told the whole bowling alley that she only hit one pin before flashing on Tristan's name. She growled at it, then her ball when it came out of the machine and gently hit the other ball.

Tristan then came back. He glanced at the score, but to Jazz's relief, didn't make any comments. He handed her the soda, which she thanked him for and accepted. He took a quick gulp of his drink before he put it down on the little table. After a quick glance at all the balls, he took a dark black and green one and stood at the line. He then bowled his ball. Like hers, it messily bounced from side to side, but unlike hers, it hit five pins.

"Good job," she told him. He only shrugged.

"Only five pins," he informed her as he stared at the machine, waiting for his ball to come up so that he could bowl again.

"More than me," she stated a little miserably, glancing up at the scoreboard again.

"You'll do better next time," he assured her as he picked up his ball. He bowled again, and like her, didn't score anything. He and Jazz both just stared at the animation of a dragon blowing fire on a bowling ball.

The score told everybody that Tristan only hit five pins before it flashed back to Jazz. Jazz picked up the pink ball and stood at the line. She attempted again to copy Danny's expert bowling moves, but failed. The ball bounced from bumper to bumper before rolling down the side of the left one before hitting two pins.

"Least you got more this time," Tristan tried to comfort her. It didn't help much. How come Danny was so much better at it?

"My little brother bowls a two-hundred and fifty average," she told him. "My average is about sixty or so."

"He's really good by the sounds of it," he told her as she picked up her ball again.

"Very good," she called out before bowling again. Knocked down one more pin. "He's very good. I don't get how he can do it. He rarely practices. He doesn't have that type of time anymore."

"Anymore?" Tristan asked as he looked at the scores. "Does he have too much homework now that he's in high school?"

"Uh…yeah…Homework," she lamely agreed as he picked up his ball. Thankfully, he accepted the stupid answer because he didn't bring it up again. Instead, he jogged slightly and threw the bowl. It amazingly stayed straight, avoiding the bumpers before hitting the middle pin. The pins made a loud clanking noise before they all fell down together. Strike.

Jazz smiled as she looked at the funny little animation that showed when people got a strike. It was a bowling ball falling on top of a bunch of bowling pins, making them all fall over.

"That was amazing!" she told him as he walked up. He shrugged.

"Pure luck," he said, sounding a bit nervous. Did she think he was a show-off because a miracle allowed him to get a strike? Would she get angry if she didn't win the game? Was she a sporty person? Some sporty people are like that, but was she one of those people? Should he pretend to play worse than her so that she'd win? Would she get mad if she found out? Would she even find out? "My average is around 80."

"Hey, you got a strike; don't beat yourself up." Jazz told him. She aimed for the pins and after it bounced off the bumpers, she managed to get six of them. She threw the bowl again and got two more. "Wow, didn't think I could do that."

"Uh... don't kill me for saying this, but I think you look very nice." Tristan informed Jazz. He played that off as a joke, but he remember how some women reacted when he said things like that. _Hope she doesn't do the same._

"Thanks, Tristan." Should she return the favor? "I think you look very handsome too." _and if I'm really feeling courageous, maybe I can kiss him._

"Thanks, Jazz." He managed to bowl a spare, even though he was kind of lost in his thoughts. He wasn't used to hearing anything about his appearance, at least nothing complimentary.

They continued bowling and the first game ended. Tristan got an 87, while Jazz managed a 58. Jazz was surprised he wasn't teasing her about it. Tristan got a different ball for the second game. "I'm hoping this one fits my hand a bit more." He explained.

"So how long did it take you to write all of those stories?"

"A little more than a year. They were ideas floating around in my head, but I didn't have enough to make them novel sized, so I wrote them as short stories instead."

"I can see why you call them twisted tales, although a couple of them were ethical questions."

"I know; those are ones I was hoping to leave morally ambiguous; it's meant to make you think."

"You mean, the one where someone does nothing to prevent a friend from killing herself? It ended with him holding her hand, hoping she can find some peace, and knowing he'd have a long time to think about whether or not he made the correct decision."

"Yeah, that's pretty much it. I based her on someone I talk to online, who has spent her entire life in pain and sadly, I don't see how she's going to recover from everything. Sometimes there is no easy solution, which is why I ended it that way."

"Where do you get all these ideas?" _Jeez, Tristan, what kind of life have you lived?_

"The products of my twisted mind, mainly. When people hear this, they tend to think 'dear god, what was your childhood like?'" He managed to score another spare, giving her a rare smile.

The second game went better for Jazz. She managed a 73, one of her higher scores and just 8 points behind Tristan. He got a refill for both of their drinks and they sat down before their third game. Jazz turned her head and her eyes widened. "Who's that?" Tristan asked.

"That's Paulina, a girl my brother has a crush on." Jazz explained. "She's kind of shallow, and someone's jealous of that." Sam was majorly unhappy about Danny's crush on her, though it had faded somewhat.

"And he doesn't know someone else likes him?" Judged on the guys drooling over her, he highly doubted her brother was the only one.

"Hey, Tristan, how are you?" Paulina waved. She had gotten her second gutter ball.

"I'm fine, Paulina." Tristan replied, looking at her. Jazz was a little concerned. Was he checking her out?

"I hate to ask, but do you have a couple dollars?" Paulina wondered, turning on the charm. "I'm parched from all this and I really need something to drink."

"Sorry, Paulina, I'm broke." _Not exactly, but you're not getting a cent out of me._ She pouted and turned around

"I thought you had plenty of money." Jazz remarked when she was out of earshot. She was a bit annoyed and only managed to get two pins.

"I do, but I wasn't about to give her anything." Tristan explained. He knew tricks some girls played, and while many guys would think helping her would give them a chance with her, he knew better. Besides, they wouldn't want him, anyway.

"Well, my brother always seems to fall for that." _Glad you didn't; really starting to like you. Just wish you would kiss me. _She got up and threw the ball, managing to get a strike for the first time. Tristan grinned and hugged her, picking her up.

"Sorry about that." Dear god, how was she going to react? He should have at least asked her permission before doing that!

"Don't worry; I didn't mind it." She was kind of disappointed that Tristan had let her go. "Hey, it's the first strike I've ever gotten."

"I don't get them very often, either." It was halfway through their third game and for once, Jazz was in the lead, if only by a couple points. He drank his soda, waiting for her to finish.

* * *

He threw the ball and managed to get a spare. Jazz was slightly disappointed, hoping to win the final game, but seeing the grin on his face made all those thoughts disappear. She noticed that she had one more chance to win the game. She took a deep breath and picked up her pink ball. She more quickly and threw the ball. Another strike! She shrieked in excitement and hugged Tristan again, who laughed and hugged her back as she jumped around a little. Unfortunately, the next bowl was only five pins, but then she got two more. Tristan only got three the first time and managed to spare, but Jazz managed to win.

The lane shut down and Jazz began to take off her shoes. Once she took them off, Tristan politely took them back up to the counter for her and got their shoes. He came back, barefooted, and handed Jazz her other shoe. She quickly slipped it on as Tristan put his shoes on. Once she had her shoes on, they stood up and began to leave.

"Want me to walk you to your dorm?" he offered.

"Sure!" she said cheerfully. He began to walk towards the dorms with her beside him. After a minute, she smoothly moved her hand towards his and held it.

Tristan jumped a little and pulled away at first, but Jazz held onto his hand a little tighter. He got the message that she was okay with it, so he didn't resist. _At this rate, how long will it be until he kisses me?_ Jazz couldn't help but ponder.

Half-way there, Jazz sneakily weaved her fingers with his. He didn't seem to notice, and if he did, he didn't care. She felt a small victory.

They soon reached the dorms ten minutes later. Jazz smiled as she slipped her hand away.

"Thanks for taking me bowling. I still can't believe I won," she told her.

"No problem," he said, giving a small smile back.

_The mood is perfect. Nobody's here, it's starlight out and he seems to like me back_ Jazz thought. She leaned in to kiss him.

Only for him to turn his head and her lips catch his cheek.

"Good night," he told her, smiling a little more as he began to walk off. "Sweet dreams."

Jazz tried to hide how heartbroken she was. Did this mean he didn't like her? If he liked her, wouldn't he have kissed her? Did she do something wrong? Was the mood wrong? Or was he just still not ready?

Either way, she sniffed and held back tears until she reached her dorm room. She let herself in and openly let tears fall as she fell on her bed. Her roommate, who was dozing off while listening to her iTouch and reading a book, suddenly snapped awake.

"Jazz?" she asked, taking out the earphones, Humpty Dumpty lyrics being yelled into the small room. "Jazz what's wrong?"

"He doesn't like me!" Jazz sobbed into her pillow. It came out muffled, so it took her roommate a moment to figure out what she was sobbing about. Her confused look turned into a look of symphony. She abandoned the Humpty Dumpty music and sat next to her on her bed and patted her back.

"What happened?" she asked. Jazz sniffed for a moment before explaining, not sitting up.

"He wouldn't kiss me," she complained, sniffing more. She accepted a tissue from her roommate.

"I'll wash your pillow tomorrow when I do my laundry," her roommate offered. Jazz looked confused until she noticed some of her mascara and eye shadow smeared onto the white pillowcase.

"Thanks," Jazz sniffed slightly, drying her eyes with the tissues.

"No problem. And with the Tristan thing, don't freak out over it. Just make another attempt to kiss him next time," she comforted. "Maybe the mood just wasn't right."

"Maybe," Jazz agreed, fiddling with the tissue. "But…at the bowling alley…I think he was checking out some girl there that I went to high school with."

"Every guy checks out a girl," her roommate told her, smiling slightly. "Probably because she looks like she had too much plastic surgery." Jazz laughed. "See? It doesn't mean anything. Relax Jazzy."

Jazz sniffed and smiled in agreement.

* * *

Tristan walked home alone. He wondered if Jazz was upset for not kissing her back. Wait, did she even want to kiss him on the lips? Or was she really aiming for his cheek? Was she upset with him? Of course he had to screw something up again. "Oh, hell, she probably thought I was checking Paulina out." He muttered to himself. He did feel something when he saw her, but it was nothing good. She had tried to manipulate him multiple times.

_Maybe I should try to explain that to Jazz, but would she believe a word I say if I did,_ Tristan thought. _Probably not, but I'll give it a shot anyway._

He shivered and moved faster. Maybe next time he'd actually have enough courage to kiss her on the lips.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I wish I wish I owned Danny Phantom! Desiree: -turns me into Butch Hartman- AHHHHHHHHH! CHANGE ME BACK CHANGE ME BACK! -is changed back-

* * *

Jazz felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Her hand flew to the pocket and took it out. She immediately smiled and answered.

"Hi Danny!" she said cheerfully as she leaned back onto her pillows.

"Hey Jazz!" his voice replied as equally cheerfully. "How's college?"

Memories of time with Tristan, her new friends and classes flashed through her head. She smiled bigger.

"Fantastic. How's the ghost-hunting, being clueless and school?" she asked him.

"Why does everybody call me clueless?" he whined. Jazz snickered. "But the ghost-hunting's been rougher. Skulker's been attacking like crazy lately."

"You mean Ghost X?"

"…What…? No…Skulker," Danny corrected. "Either way, he's really been set on getting my pelt."

"Ew," Jazz commented, shivering at the thought of her baby brother being a rug at Ghost X's bed. "How has school been?"

"Worse," he moaned. "You need to come back and help me with my homework!"

"You do realize that I can help you over the phone, right?" she replied. Her roommate came in and grinned at the sight of her on the phone. Jazz mouthed "Brother", only to receive an eye roll. Her roommate dumped her backpack onto her beg. "Do you need help with anything right now?"

"No. Mom was able to help me with History and Math today," he told her. Jazz smiled and glanced at her roommate as she grabbed her bathroom stuff and walked down the hallway to the showers. "Made any friends nerd?"

"I'm not a nerd!" Jazz insisted. "And if you must know, I met a lot of nice people, made some more friends and even met a guy."

"Met a guy as in he actually knows your name?" Danny teased. Jazz rolled her eyes.

"No clueless. As in we've been on two dates now," she informed him. Danny immediately went into protective brother mode.

"What's his name? Where does he live? Has he hurt you? If not, I'm going to show him what hurt is!" Danny threatened. Jazz rolled her eyes slightly and smiled.

"Danny, relax. Tristan is a really nice and sweet boy," she told him. _Even though he won't kiss me._ "He's a gentleman and makes me happy. You want me happy, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Danny immediately replied. "But…I also want you safe."

"Danny, I appreciate your concern, but I'm almost nineteen. I know how to make good choices and decisions. You know, maybe you should start paying more attention to your love life instead of mine. Clueless."

"Hey!" Danny protested. "I'm just worried bout you!"

"Danny, you don't need to be," Jazz told him gently. "Like I said, I'll be nineteen in three months. I'm an adult now. I'll be fine. I know how to take care of myself."

A loud sigh from Danny's end was heard.

"If he hurts you, I get to hurt him," Danny compromised. Jazz smiled.

"Deal."

"Hey, I gotta go. Skulker's attacking."

"Ghost X is powerful Danny! Be careful!"

"….I'm not going to even…"

Jazz heard Danny hang up and smiled. She glanced down at the textbook in front of her before she picked it up and began to read it again.

* * *

Back in Amity Park, Danny hung up. Sure, he lied about Skulker attacking, but it wasn't a big deal. He jumped into the air, also turning into his famous alter-ego Danny Phantom. He flew out the window and looked around in confusion. He then remembered the direction of Jazz's college and flew in that direction. At 115 mph, he could get there in…uh…really…quickly. Yeah. Really quickly.

It didn't take him very long to reach the outskirts of the college. _Wait a minute; i don't know what this guy looks like!_ Danny groaned as he realized he just wasted a trip. Oh, well, at least he can pop in to see Jazz. He remembered where her dorm room was and flew in, staying invisible.

He arrived at the door and knocked on it, her roommate answering. "Hey, you're Jazz's brother," she told him. "I'm betting you want to see her. She's on the phone right now, though, so you may have to wait."

Danny walked in and saw Jazz talking. "Cannon's really your last name?" she chuckled. "hey, I'm just teasing you, ok? Yes, my parents are really Jack and Maddie Fenton." Danny listened to the two of them talk; she didn't even seem to notice he was there.

Jazz turned around and saw Danny. 'I'm sorry, Tristan, I have to go; my brother's here. Don't worry, we're still going out tonight." She hung up and looked at Danny. "Hey, Danny; what made you decide to visit?"

"Wait, I need a reason to visit my sister?" Danny smiled, hugging her. "I hope things are going well for you."

"Yeah, I'm getting good grades, although the classes are harder than what I'm used to." _and I'm guessing you came here to threaten Tristan._

"Hey, I'm sure you'll manage straight A's, the way you always did in high school. Were you talking to your boyfriend?"

"Yes, Danny, I was. Look, he's really a great guy, so don't become too overprotective."

"Just don't want this to be a repeat of what happened with Johnny 13. Have you had fun?"

"Yes, it's been great. We went bowling a few nights and I actually managed to beat him."

"He lost to you? He does suck!"

"No need to remind me about your 250 average; you rub that in my face every time I mention bowling."

"Hey, it's nice to beat you in something. Been kind of tiring, though, with all the ghosts. All i've had to deal with today is the Box Ghost."

"You've done very well protecting the town. How are Sam and Tucker?"

"Arguing as much as they always do. This time, it was about saving the planet. Each of them wanted my opinion and I kind of... ran for it. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were a married couple."

"Don't worry; she doesn't have any romantic feelings for Tucker." _Course, you seem to be blind to Sam's feelings for you._

"I know, but it does seem that way. I finally managed to duplicate into four and hold it for more than a few seconds."

"That's great! I'm very proud of you, little brother. You got to be careful, though. My roommate is in here."

Danny blushed slightly. "Oops, I kind of forgot about that. My mind has been all over the place lately. Heard you intend on going out with him tonight."

"Yep, it's the third date. Hmm, I wonder what he has planned." _And I am getting that kiss out of him this time!_ "Just one thing, Danny."

"What is it?"

"Don't follow us everywhere, ok? He's a great guy and I can take care of myself. And don't lie to me and tell me you weren't going to."

That was exactly what Danny intended to do. No one was going to hurt his sister if he could help it. "All right, I'll leave you alone. I hope you have fun with him."

"Thanks, Danny." They continued talking for a while, from school to new ideas their parents had come up with. They still went after Danny, but he had gotten good at getting away from them. His top speed was now over 160 miles an hour.

Eventually, Danny decided to go, fully intending to tell Sam and Tucker about all this. (I wonder how Sam's going to react when she learns Jazz is dating the author of that book)

* * *

"You have a car?" Jazz asked in amazement as she stood in shock at the car Tristan was leaning against. It was a simple red buick.

"Yeah. It finally got fixed," he told her. He motioned for her to come over. She happily obeyed, coming over. He politely opened the passenger door for her and closed it for her. Out of habit, Jazz buckled her seat belt as Tristan got into the driver's seat. As he buckled his seatbelt, he asked where she wanted to go to.

"We can hang out at the park, and if you're hungry later we can grab a quick dinner," she suggested.

"Sounds good," he said as he bit his lip a little. "Uh…you look really nice."

"Thanks," Jazz said, smiling bright. "You look really great too."

Tristan seemed a bit surprised, but just smiled slightly and began to start the car. He put it into drive before driving off. Jazz liked the car. It was nice, a smooth ride and seemed to be in great condition.

Soon, Tristan pulled into an empty parking spot at the neighborhood park. He quickly got out and managed to reach Jazz's door. He also somehow opened it before Jazz could. She was surprised, but smiled and got out.

"Thanks," she told him. He just shrugged his shoulders.

Jazz grabbed his hand, startling him for a moment but he quickly relaxed. He allowed her to lead him towards the park sidewalk. They walked, hand in hand. Jazz smiled brightly at a compliment from an elderly woman walking her dog at how cute they were together. She glanced at him. (Wonder if I can steal a kiss now?)

Before she could even attempt, he suddenly pulled her off the sidewalk into the grass.

"Where are we going?" she asked, not letting go of his hand but still kind of confused as to where they were going.

"There's a lake over there," he told her. "It's supposed to be really pretty."

Jazz just smiled._ A lake. Hmm...As long as there are no screaming kids or teen punks ruining it, this could be a real mood-setter._ She smiled in her lovesick puppy daze, allowing him to lead her across the grass to the lake. She soon saw it and her heart leaped with hope. No small kids or teen punks in view. Instead, there was just a family of five feeding the swans.

Tristan sat down on a bench and just stared out at the lake. Jazz sat down next to him and watched him. It was cute to see him so focused on one thing.

"It's pretty," she told him, trying to start up a conversation.

"Like you," he blurted out without thinking. He immediately panicked inside, but was relieved when the response was Jazz moving closer and leaning against him.

He hesitantly put his arm around her. She smiled and hugged him, ignoring that he was stiff with nervousness. Her smile grew when she felt him slowly relax before hugging her back. They sat there on the bench, just hugging and sitting there, occasionally making a few small comments. It was sweet.

_Now is perfect. If I don't act now, I'm never getting that kiss,_ Jazz told herself. She glanced up at his face. He seemed pretty focused on the lake still, watching the swans fight over bread.

She put a hand on his cheek, making him jump. He quickly relaxed, although his heartbeat raced in nervousness as she moved his head so that they were looking at each other. Jazz leaned in and captured his lips in a brief kiss before pulling away. It was mostly an experiment. Tristan was pretty jumpy and uncomfortable.

But thankfully, he leaned into her and kissed her briefly back. She happily kissed back. It was so sweet and romantic.

So sweet and romantic that Danny wanted to barf.

Yeah, that's right. Danny was spying on them. It was kind of cute, but it was his older sister and some random guy he didn't know! Okay, so he knew his name. Not good enough! This guy could be a player or a secret douche bag. Who knew?

Danny was getting nervous at the kissing. He didn't know how far they've gone before. Sure, this was the third date, but people have gone all the way before date one! Jazz was smarter than that, but even the smart could easily fall victim to a boy who had the ability to charm, and charm well.

He needed a distraction, but if he stopped them, Jazz would be furious. She had specifically told him NOT to follow them. As he shifted uncomfortably, he suddenly smiled and remembered the Fenton Thermos. He glanced at it, then at Jazz and Tristan. Was releasing Skulker and fighting him again just to distract Jazz and Tristan worth it?

Then he noticed how close they were and the fact that the park was pretty much empty, the people that were there leaving.

Yeah, worth it. _He'll probably run for his life, anyway._

Danny aimed the thermos at the ground behind Jazz and Tristan. He winced and hit RELEASE. Skulker shot out of the thermos and immediately gave an evil laugh.

To Danny's relief, they immediately pulled apart and gasped at the site of the self-proclaimed Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter.

"If it isn't the girl, and someone new." Skulker grinned. Tristan was terrified, but put Jazz behind him, trying to stand his ground.

Danny blasted him from behind. He didn't like Tristan, but was not about to leave him at Skulker's mercy. "Hey, I'm right here!" Danny exclaimed. "Give me your best shot!" He delivered an uppercut, following with a strong kick that sent him into a tree. Jazz ran to help, but Tristan grabbed her hand.

"What are you doing?" Tristan demanded, holding onto her.

"He needs my help!" Jazz exclaimed.

"Are you out of your damned mind?" he asked, holding her from behind. Jazz struggled in his grip, but he was stronger than she thought and couldn't break free. Tristan was slowly dragging her back, nearly frozen with terror but not willing to leave Jazz in danger.

He dived to the ground when a blast hit the ground near them, climbing on top of Jazz. There was nothing romantic about it; he just didn't want her to get involved in that fight. Besides, Danny Phantom seemed to be handling it himself. Jazz was unable to move and couldn't do anything but watch.

However, Danny managed to get the upper hand and destroyed another of Skulker's suits. Tristan was nearly ready to laugh at the tiny creature struggling to get out of Danny's grip. He was sucked into the Thermos and Danny flew off.

_I'm going to kill him for that_ Jazz promised herself as she glared at Danny. She looked at Tristan and let him go. She was slightly annoyed, but it was quickly fading. After all, he didn't know she had any kind of weapons and was trying to protect her. _It's pretty cute, actually._

"What are you thinking?" Tristan asked. "How could you do something so stupid? You could have been killed!"

"Look, I have a couple of ghost weapons just in case one of them shows up." Jazz replied, trying not to lose her temper. "I wasn't about to let him fight alone."

"Still, I don't want to lose you." Jazz's reply was lost when he kissed her.

_It's about time,_ she thought as she wrapped her arms around his neck. it continued for some time, Tristan pulling her next to him.

"Wasn't sure I could get away with that." Was he too forward?

"Oh, it's fine. I've been wanting you to do that since our first date."

"This isn't exactly what I had in mind by romantic. I know it's fun to read about, but I'd prefer to avoid life-threatening situations. I'm not exactly a hero, anyway."

"They why did you try to protect me? That was very brave of you."

"Didn't want to see you hurt. Still, I was terrified of that thing." That was putting it mildly.

"Doesn't make it any less brave." She gave him a quick kiss on the lips and they walked out of the park hand in hand. Jazz rested her head on his shoulder, a giant smile on her face. He wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked.

"I know this is kind of soon, but... do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"I thought you'd never ask, Tristan. Of course I'll be your girlfriend." She gave him another kiss _I'll never get tired of this._

"I'll drive you back to the dorms." They walked a few more steps until Tristan stopped suddenly. "Oh, dear god! My car!" All four of the tires were flat, having a giant hole in their sides. "Eh, I'll call the towing service later. Let's see if I have enough money with me for a taxi."

Unfortunately, he didn't have more than a few dollars and Jazz paid for the rest of it. They got out near the dorms, while Tristan was complaining about the fee. "I'll pay you back later." he told her. "Well, this was fun, even with the ghost attack. I'll see you soon, I hope."

"Bet on it." Jazz gave him a final kiss and reluctantly walked into her room. She knew Danny was the one who did that and made a mental note to kill him at the first opportunity.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I wish I wish I owned Danny Phantom! Desiree: -turns me into Butch Hartman- AHHHHHHHHH! CHANGE ME BACK CHANGE ME BACK! -is changed back-**

* * *

Warnings: We have a controversial topic being debated in this chapter. You can put your opinons in your review (which you WILL write), yell at us and all that. If you don't want to read it, skip over it, but you can still write us a review because you KNOW you love this fanfiction and you KNOW you want to write us a review.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Sam asked Danny when they talked the next day. "You followed Jazz, released Skulker when you saw them holding each other, and after you subdued him again, you popped his tires?"

"Pretty much, yes," Danny admitted. "He had to walk about 4 miles home after Jazz was dropped off and it let me find out where he lived. Course, Jazz kept me in the thermos for about three hours, but it was worth it."

"So what did this guy do?" Tucker asked. "Did he run like a wimp when he saw Skulker?" He would have said girl, but Sam punched him last time he said that.

"No, actually, he didn't," Danny admitted. "He held her back when she tried to help me. I was hoping he'd run and Jazz would break up with him. It didn't exactly go as planned."

"And Skulker's one of the more dangerous ghosts," Tucker replied. "He may not be such a bad guy if he's willing to help Jazz despite no powers and no weapons. I don't know if I would be able to do that."

"How do we know she's not under some kind of spell?" Danny demanded. "Remember what happened with Johnny 13? It could be the same thing all over again! I have a bad feeling about this guy; he seems weird."

"Has he put anything on her, a jacket, ring, or anything like that?" Sam wondered. "He could just be an ordinary guy who likes Jazz."

"No, he hasn't, but even if he's not a ghost, I don't want him anywhere near her," Danny snapped. "Here's something you might find interesting: he's the author of that new book you've been telling me about?" Well, criticizing and complaining would be more accurate. He was in no position to judge, having never read the book himself.

"She's actually dating him?" Sam demanded. "Now I want to meet him. I'm going to give him a piece of my mind! He doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. He may be a skilled writer, but he's full of crap!"

"And I wouldn't be surprised if he's either a ghost or someone who's only after one thing," Danny told them. "Jazz is smart, but even she can be charmed by someone. I don't want her to have her heart broken after she sleeps with him and he never talks to her after that!"

"Aren't you jumping to conclusions?" Tucker cautioned. "After all, you've never even met the guy. Do you even know his name?"

"Tristan, and I saw enough of him," Danny informed. "He had his hands all over her!"

"So when are they going out again?" Sam asked. "I know you're going to follow them again, Danny, even if you end up in the Thermos. It's the kind of person you are. If he is like that, you know what to do."

"Jazz is already demanding I pay for his car to be fixed; over 300 bucks." Danny chuckled. "He's going to have a much harder time taking her out now. I don't have the money to fix it and I wouldn't do it if I had."

"Just wait until you know something about him before you go too crazy," Tucker warned. "I know you're protective over your sister, and I would be to, but he seems like a decent guy. What has Jazz said about him?"

"About what you just said, but she's blinded to his charms," Danny replied. "I don't know why; it's not like he's attractive or anything like that."

"I'd like to meet him sometime," Sam grinned. "I look forward to tearing him apart on every single point he makes." Tucker knew that Tristan was in for hell, between the two of them.

* * *

Over the next two months, Jazz and Tristan continued going out. He was slowly learning to be comfortable around her and able to compliment her without being afraid of Jazz reacting badly to it. When she asked why that was the case, his answers were short and elusive.

Jazz had to admit, she had a lot of fun being around him and just a quick call from Tristan was enough to put a smile on her face. He had his studies and his job, so it was sometimes difficult to meet, but he always made sure he was able to talk to her, even if it was brief.

Still, it actually wasn't easy to be patient with him. Jazz had fallen hard for him, more so than she can remember doing, certainly not after knowing someone for only a few months. She told him about her family, her classes, and various interests. He even helped her a few times in things like history, which he apparently knew quite well.

One thing she had learned was that Tristan was quite cynical and was well-known to complain about people's stupidity. Jazz knew he had a point much of the time, but she didn't go on and on the way he did.

On other things he was more silent. He admitted he lived with his mom and step-father, even though he probably had enough money to go out on his own if he really wanted to. He was an independent paralegal and on average, worked around 25 hours a week. It was slowly increasing, as he was becoming known, but he had to balance that and schoolwork. His grades were not as high as hers, with an average of around a 3.0.

Even so, she felt that Tristan was just as smart as her, if not more so. On one occasion, when she was having problems getting inside her car, he pointed out that she had the wrong one. Tristan mentioned it was the wrong license plate and recited hers. Needless to say, she was quite surprised at that ability and asked: "How in the hell did you do that?"

"I just… looked at it." He shrugged, hoping she wouldn't be mad at him. Jazz smiled and kissed him; it was nice to have someone she could talk to, even if jealousy surfaced on occasion.

She eventually persuaded Danny, Sam, and Tucker to allow him to come to their movie night, deciding it would be a good occasion to meet Tristan and see what kind of person he was. They were going to watch the "Avatar" movie and Tristan decided to bring one of his own. Jazz was nervous, hoping this meeting would go well.

Tristan was nervous, pacing around at Sam's front door. "Don't worry; things will be fine," Jazz reassured him, although she was anything but confident of that. Sam opened the door and greeted them.

"Jazz, Tristan, good to see you," Sam greeted, her voice souring when she said Tristan's name. They walked into the house and Jazz led him to the basement, where there was a movie theater. "I'd like to talk to you later, Tristan."

"Oh, good, I'm making a wonderful impression," Tristan complained. "She's the one who was complaining about some of my stories?" Jazz nodded and held his hand. They arrived and Tristan decided to get them some popcorn, covering it in salt.

"Nice try, Tristan, but I like salt too," Jazz chuckled. _Probably going to need a lot to drink for this movie._

"So what are we watching?" Tristan decided to ask.

"I'm playing Avatar; Danny and Tucker have been dying to see it." Sam explained. "It's a pretty good movie; have you ever seen it?"

"No, we didn't watch it in the theatres," Tristan replied. "I've read some reviews about it, though." However, what he had read about it gave him a rather negative opinion. He and Jazz sat next to each other, eating popcorn and waiting for the others.

Danny and Tucker showed up a few minutes later. Danny glared death at Tristan, while Tucker waved in welcome. They sat down as the movie began. Tristan got both himself and Jazz a drink; thankfully, they did not have to sit through 15 minutes of previews.

"What are you playing?" Tristan asked Tucker as the movie went on.

"Rain forest Demolition," Tucker whispered back. "It's one of the few old games that are still fun."

"I've heard about it; mind if I give it a try?" Tucker reluctantly handed over the console, making him promise not to scratch it or delete any of his stuff.

Tristan looked up frequently and finding that the movie was pretty much what he expected. Danny, Tucker, and Sam were all watching intently, with Jazz and Tristan paying it less interest.

After he had checked out the game, he shut it off and looked at Jazz, kissing her on the cheek. It wasn't too romantic, considering their lips were covered in grease.

Danny and Tucker's eyes widened as the movie hit the great battle scene, enjoying all the action. Sam was more somber, while Tristan was bored, his attention focused mainly on Jazz. He got them some more popcorn and when he came back, grabbed her hand tightly.

Danny glared at him as best he was able. Even the great special effects of the movie didn't direct his attention entirely. Jazz and Tristan were kissing, her hand on the back of his head. His eyes glowed green with anger as he tried to restrain himself from tearing him apart. _I can't believe I agreed to let him come along._

After the movie was over, they turned it back and Tristan rushed out of the room. He came back a couple minutes later, while Sam was asking them what they thought.

"Wow, that was awesome!" Tucker exclaimed, and started yammering about what had happened. Danny smiled, having a similar opinion but his mood was soured by Tristan being there.

"It was pretty much what I had expected: great special effects and no plot," Tristan pointed out.

"What do you mean, no plot?" Sam asked.

"It was essentially a futuristic version of the evil white man persecuting the nice, peaceful Indians. He apparently knows Indians only from stereotypes."

"That's exactly what we did to them!" Sam immediately snapped back. "We took their land, slaughtered them, forced them into slavery, even committed genocide!"

"And they did the exact same thing to one another long before the Europeans arrived. They raided their rivals, killed them, took land from one another. The Indians were far from peaceful and they did the same thing to us, albeit on a smaller scale," Tristan pointed out. Danny and Tucker glanced at each other. "The Noble savage is a myth and always has been. They were not peaceful people living in harmony with the environment. How can you live in harmony where there is none to be found?"

"The movie has an excellent point; we're destroying the planet and if we had the technology to get to extra solar places, we would do the same here," Sam argued, her eyes beginning to narrow. Danny and Tucker both knew that she was now in battle mode. She was going to do nothing but slam down all of Tristan's replies and arguments until he was nothing.

"Quite arrogant on her part. We can't destroy the planet and we're not doing so," Tristan argued back. Jazz knew that he was going to argue back until he won. She knew from experience. "This might surprise you, but over the last 50 years, there has been a slight increase in the amount of trees worldwide. Our standards for environmental protection have gone up, and we're one of the few countries who have actually reduced the amount of pollution we create."

"We only have one planet, with depleting resources and pumping billions of tons of pollution into the atmosphere, warming the planet!" Sam yelled. "If we don't do something now, what kind of world are we going to leave our children and grandchildren? We need to conserve and find alternate fuels to what we have now."

"Yes, the climate is starting to warm," Tristan admitted before continuing, "but it is hardly universal. The weather changes all the time. If we can't predict what the weather will be in 3 to 4 days, what luck are we going to have predicting it in 100 years? All of this is only projection; we're guessing, to be completely blunt about it. Our planet has been warming for centuries, but how much of it is due to human activity? We can't even decide how much warming is going to happen in the next century."

"No reason not to start acting now. The fuels we rely on are becoming harder to find, and they are polluting our atmosphere. We're destroying forests all over the world through logging and industry. We're wiping out species at an alarming rate, and we need to do something to stop it!" Sam informed him.

Danny and Tucker glanced at each other again. For the first time, this debate might end in a draw. Sam never lost her rant/debate on what she believed in. She refused to lose. It just wasn't Sam. Jazz knew that too, but she also knew that Tristan was stubborn. He wouldn't go down without a pretty strong fight either.

"You act like an impact on the environment is something new; it's not. When humans came to North America 18,000 years ago, they contributed to the extinction of dozens of large animals. Indians burned forests regularly to clear out the underbrush and they left others on the brink of extinction. They didn't care about the environment, or feel remorse when killing anything, other humans or animals. The director knows nothing about Indians, or the planet, for that matter. The Earth can take care of itself. You seem to have this romantic view of nature; there's nothing romantic about it. It's cruel, vicious, and unforgiving. If you don't adapt you die."

"Just because it's nothing new doesn't mean it's not a concern!" Sam snapped.

"You're missing my point!" Tristan snapped back. "We're not destroying the planet; we can't. The earth has been here for over 4 billion years and will be here far after we've gone. We're not running out of resources; we still find plenty of them, which better technology has allowed us to do. There are also natural controls of forest, such as forest fires from lightning strikes."

"Yes, and it is destroying our environment!"

"What do you propose, then?"

"I propose you shut up when it concerns things you know nothing about," Sam scowled. "I mean, do you know how screwed up our world is, and it's because of men! They're the reasons we have war, weapon, and violence!"

"Personal attacks; what a great surprise," Tristan said, his voice filled to the brim with sarcasm as he rose an eyebrow towards her. "How did this turn to a discussion about men? Fine. I see you can benefit from a few basic history lessons, British history in particular. Have you ever heard of the Falklands War or the destruction of the Spanish Armada? They were done by Margaret Thatcher and Elizabeth I, respectively. Speaking of Elizabeth, there's a reason they called her sister Bloody Mary."

"Have you forgotten who started the Holocaust?" Sam asked back. "The reason we had almost every single war in history? Not to mention the fact that men cause far more crimes than women. You know why? Women are more loving and caring than you violence-loving men!"

"And are you aware there were female guards at concentration camps? They acted no differently than male guards. The reasons for war vary greatly, from revenge to economics or simply because they think they can win," Tristan told her. "Men are also more likely to be victims of violent crime. Oh, and let's not forget that it's not considered a crime when a woman does anything. The question that is generally asked is 'what did he do to deserve it?"

"Because it's true!" Sam nearly screeched. "Men do horrible things to women that deserve a slap or being yelled at. Most men are just douche bags!'

"And women can do horrible things to men," he informed her. "I've heard women can do anything and that's true in every sense of the word. They can abuse, manipulate, and destroy lives, just the same as men can. Not all are kind and caring." Jazz noticed something, but declined to say anything. All three of them were paying close attention to their argument.

"Just because you've heard it doesn't make it true. It's just crap you've made up for your stories. It's called fiction for a reason!"

Danny frowned slightly at the argument. He glanced at Tucker, who was recording it in the slim chance that Sam would crack and loose. Was Sam a feminist? She sure spoke like one just now, but was it a heat of the moment thing? He'd never seen her like this before.

"And did you ever stop to consider why I wrote about that kind of thing? I've seen things you haven't, Samantha," Tristan said with a frown. "One of the most vicious people I know is a woman. Besides, all you've done is heard about it, unless there is something in your past we don't know about."

"You write it to attain fame due to a controversial subject. It's different, which would gain media attention, and one woman doesn't represent a whole gender or race," Sam hissed. "And it's SAM!"

"Neither does a single man, but you stereotype them as violent thugs. It's rather hypocritical on your part. Besides, I didn't write it knowing nothing; I actually did some research into this. I found some rather interesting material, but I doubt it would be anything you want to know."

"It's probably written by books and websites written by ugly jerks who can't get a woman so they assume all women are horrible and bash them constantly," Sam said hotly.

"You're doing the same thing by assuming most men are violent," Tristan tried to explain. Sam was stubborn and refused to see the world outside her box of beliefs. "I'm a rather cynical person, but I have seen little difference in regards to how each gender acts. I know a woman who's quite explosive, even violent. How about women who bash men on a constant basis? Oh, my mistake; they're given a standing ovation."

"Because women have been viewed as less important and objects for centuries!" she argued. "We still are today! Those women should be given a standing ovation for standing up for themselves and not letting men treat them like they've been treating us for years!"

"On one thing, at least you have a point: women have been considered inferior in the past," Tristan admitted. She had a victory smirk that everyone but Tristan was able to see, but he wasn't done yet. "However, it has begun to swing in the opposite direction. You can attack men with impunity, do what you wish, but if we try to defend ourselves, say in a case where the woman is an abuser, you howl about blaming the victim, saying it was either self-defense or that the man deserved it. There is no excuse for that kind of treatment, no matter what your gender is. Today, some even consider women superior, such as yourself. Both genders are equal and are capable of anything."

"Not quite; men are incapable of accepting the fact that they lost an argument, so they resort to lying and making up facts to support it."

"Again, the sins you are blatantly guilty of you project onto me." Jazz was getting worried and trying to get him away, but both of them were completely focused on one another. "You are basing your beliefs on ideology, what you've been taught. Things are more complex than you believe and what I have found is that men and women abuse one another in close to equal numbers."

"Where exactly are you getting your numbers?" Sam challenged. "Those women-bashing books and sites?"

"Oh, no, I read quite a bit about it and from different sources," Tristan explained. "There's a reason why male abuse isn't talked about. Few want to admit they're being abused by a woman and when they do come out with it, they are met with skepticism, even scorn. They are assumed to have done something to deserve it. In theory, the law is applied equally, but human bias prevents that. I have overheard plenty of women saying they hit their boyfriend just for saying something foolish. If a man said the same thing, the reaction would be very different."

"I bet out of those male victims 98% did do something to deserve it," Sam replied stubbornly. "Just because you have a variety of sources doesn't mean the people who wrote it aren't full of crap."

"What could they possibly have done to deserve it?" Tristan asked. "There is no excuse for doing so, regardless of who you're angry with. If I said female victims must have done something to deserve it, you'd tear me apart and rightfully so. However, you saying male victims deserve it is just full of bullshit. Just because they're angry with their boyfriend, husband or what have you is no excuse to become physically violent." By this time, both of them were shouting at one another.

"Men cheat on women all the time. Not to mention they lead them to believe they love them just to get into their pants, sleep with them and leave them knocked up. If you tell me those men don't deserve it, then I have no problem bitch-slapping you now."

Danny paid a little closer attention in hopes of seeing Sam beat up Tristan. Jazz was worried something was going to happen, while Tucker was still recording. He'd never seen anyone who could match Sam when she got going like this.

"So you're going to attack me because I disagree with you?" Tristan wanted to know. "How about women you use their looks to manipulate, knowing a man likes them and using that to get anything they want? Women cheat on men close to the same proportion men cheat on women. There are women who will do that, who will dress provocatively or sleep with them if it furthers what they want. Both genders are guilty of that, not just one."

"I admit that, but men don't get knocked up and completely abandoned," she pointed out. "Do you know how hard it is to raise a baby these days, especially alone? A man and the baby gets the attention of the ladies, but women and a baby get called whores."

"How about men who cannot go anywhere near a child or risk being branded a pedophile?" he challenged. "How about women who deliberately keep their father away from the kids and spend child support money on themselves, just to rub it in his face, just to be malicious? Yes, that sometimes happens, but there is far more fear of a man hurting a child, even though women are more likely to do so."

"What about the fact that most men don't even pay child support? What evidence do you even have that what you say even happens?"

"I've seen it with my own eyes, Samantha. There are men who don't pay child support, this is true. There are also ones who work themselves half to death trying to pay it because his wife's lawyer persuaded the judge to bankrupt him. It works both ways and again, I've apparently seen things you have not."

"You're only saying you've seen it because you don't have the guts to admit that you don't have any evidence of this actually happening. Fiction books don't count. Plus, it's Sam, not Samantha."

"I've read plenty of real stories as well, and I have seen it for myself. You can believe or not; that's up to you."

"Tristan, I think you've overstayed your welcome."

"Upset that I'm actually winning an argument?"

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NOW! YOU COME BACK AND I'LL CALL THE LAW!" Danny was gleeful at those words, while Tucker was slightly disappointed. Sure, he seemed kind of weird, but Tristan didn't seem like a bad person

"As if I'd care to come back. It was nice meeting you, Samantha."

"Good luck trying to get your lies published again! And if you call me Samantha again, I will break your arms so badly that you'll never be able to write your stupid fiction again! In fact, I might do it anyway, if it'd keep you from writing lies you sexist!"

"You just prefer to consider them that way because it's easier for you to believe than to consider that I have a point in what I say." He walked out of the room and left the house, Jazz following. Tristan felt something heavy hit the back of his head. (Well, the only thing she managed is proving me right.) "I can assume you're not very happy with me."

"You may have a point, but I wish you wouldn't have gotten into that kind of an argument," Jazz sighed. "I was hoping to make a good impression on my brother, but after what you said to Sam, that's not likely to happen."

"She started it, and if she wanted an argument, she'd got one." Tristan smiled. "I doubt she's used to people tearing her apart like that. Sam has a valid point, but her reasoning is too simplistic."

"Where did you get that stuff, Tristan?" Jazz wondered. "Did anything like that happen to you?"

"That's a story for another time." He gave her a brief kiss on the lips. "Sorry I ruined things; I know you're mad."

"I'm not mad at you, Tristan; just hopeful you could get along with them. I wish you'd open up to me, though."

"Just give it some time, Jazz. I've already told you plenty of things," He admitted to her his school years were essentially a living hell for him. He talked about the bullying, the betrayals, and the fact the school did nothing to help him. Tristan was usually told "You're exaggerating." "You're imagining things." Jazz was easily able to see that even 4 years after he had left, he was still bitter about the experience.

"But there's more you're still keeping from me. You're not a good liar, Tristan."

"I'll tell you when I'm ready. I used to tell people things too quickly and got burned for it. I can't go through that again." Tristan didn't see but that upset Jazz; it basically told her he still didn't trust her.

_Give him some time_, she told herself, but it hurt nonetheless. She rested her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her as they walked. They walked to his house and she stopped at the door. Tristan leaned down and gave her a passionate kiss, a hand on the back of her head. Jazz fought back, not letting him be dominant, pulling him right next to her. He eventually broke it, disappointing her.

"So you want to come in and meet my parents?" Tristan asked. Jazz's eyes widened and wordlessly, she walked in. She looked around the house. Other than the fact that there were small messes everywhere, it was a pretty house. Simple, beautiful and didn't look like a bunch of ghost-hunting freaks lived there. "Mom, dad, this would be Jazz, the girl I've been telling you about."

His father walked into the living room. The man had to be in his 50's with graying hair and glasses. There were a couple wrinkles on his face, but that was all. He had brown eyes, in contrast to Tristan's blue. He smiled and shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you." His father mentioned, smiling kindly. "Tristan talks about you all the time."

"That would be the old geezer I call my father." Tristan joked, but he had a point. Jazz smiled back politely.

"I prefer a coot; how many times do I have to tell you?" the man joked back. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you," Jazz stated. "So you're his parents. I've heard about you."

"Don't worry, I only mentioned the good parts," Tristan reassured. "It was a very short conversation. Remember the young man's code, Article 3, section 2. You cannot show any love or appreciation for your parents and/or guardians." Both of them chuckled. Jazz found this a very strange scene. It was unusual to see Tristan cheerful.

_Whatever part of his past he's not willing to talk about, it doesn't seem to come from them,_ Jazz thought. He seemed more relaxed about them than he expected. She looked at his mother, who had yet to move from the couch. She was a few years younger than him, also wearing glasses. She had brown eyes and light brown hair with only a few streaks of grey.

"You seem like a nice girl," his mother said, offering her hand. Jazz took it, but noted she was not standing up. Tristan walked off, Jazz following.

"Is there anything wrong with your mom?" Jazz asked.

"We were in a car accident about a year ago and she still hasn't recovered," Tristan replied. "It's not easy for her to move around. I have to help her up, usually. It's…painful for her. The idiot hit her side of the car."

"What happened?"

"I was going out for a drive, taking her to lunch to celebrate me passing my driver's test. I was on the outskirts, where there isn't very much and came across a corner I couldn't see around. I moved cautiously and some idiot in a 4 by 4 smashed into the passenger side at over 50 MPH. My mom was badly hurt and I had a few bruises and cuts.

"Worst part of it is that he didn't give a damn about her being in pain. He just worried about getting in trouble with his parents," Tristan laughed darkly. "He didn't have a license and was driving without permission. Still, I ended up being at fault because he lied to the police, saying he was going a lot slower than he really was."

"Wow, I'm sorry," Jazz put her arms around him and hugging him. He hugged her back and kissed her cheek.

"Nothing I can do about it, but my mom still hasn't recovered. Six ribs on the right side were broken, one of which pierced the lung. Thought I was going to lose her for a while. She was released from the hospital two weeks later, and she's been slowly recovering ever since.

"You've asked me to open up to you, and I can say one thing. The man in there isn't my father; he's my step dad, but as far as I'm concerned, he is my father. That's all I'm saying right now."

They walked back into the room, where his parents were waiting. They fawned over Jazz, saying how wonderful it was that she was dating him. "What, did you expect death threats?" Tristan joked. "If you did, I suppose I could come up with some. Hmm, where do I start first?"

"That's not necessary," Jazz joked, hugging him tightly. _I don't think my parents are going to react so well to him._ They sat on the couch, her resting her hand on Tristan's shoulder.

"If you came a little earlier, we could have made you some dinner," his dad explained. "How long have you two been going out?"

"A little more than 2 months." Jazz explained.

"First date was on October 10th and we met a few days before that," Tristan added. "She's apparently a fan of my book."

"So what do you do?" Jazz asked him.

"He works for an evil corporation that selfishly exploits the common people and destroys their environment for its own evil purposes," Tristan laughed.

"You've been listening to your history teacher too much," his dad replied, shaking his head.

"Oh, I love doing that to him," Tristan laughed. "I don't really believe it, my teacher is a nut, but it makes the class entertaining. I argue with him all the time, and thankfully, he's not one to grade me down for it." Tristan got up off the couch "You want anything?"

"No, thanks." Jazz declined. "Are you going to cook me anything?"

"It all depends; how sick do you want to be the next day?" Tristan teased. He really wasn't any good at cooking, despite his stepfather's attempts to teach him. All he could cook was the few things he ate. "If you're willing to risk it, sure." He walked into the kitchen, coming out with a glass of soda. "Shouldn't drink this, but I can never resist."

Jazz pulled him onto the couch and kissed him. She wanted to deepen it, but knew his parents were there. His parents noticed, but didn't say anything about it.

Most of the meeting went smoothly, except for his mother staring at him. "He's a great son and I'm glad you like him," she mentioned.

"Yeah, he's a great guy; been wonderful to me," Jazz admitted, lost in her thoughts. That was an understatement. He stayed up with her for a long time when she worried about a big test, reassuring her. It was only afterwards she found out he had something similar and needed sleep. She felt guilty, but Tristan told her he made his choice. He knew she wouldn't have allowed him to do that if he had told her, so he didn't.

"He's done a lot to help me," However, Tristan still blamed himself for it, but she wasn't going to say that to Jazz.

He showed Jazz his room, which was in something of a mess. A few posters were on the walls, but other than that, they were clear. "Old things I used to be interested in," Tristan explained. "Of course, I still read comic books once in a while."

She sat down on the bed, Tristan joining her. She smiled and held him tightly, looking into his blue eyes _I could look at them all day_. Tristan leaned down and kissed her, his tongue exploring her mouth. She fought back, nibbling on his bottom lip. Finally, he broke away, with both of them out of breath.

"You're good at this." Jazz smiled. _And you now have the guts to kiss me without having to ask me. What happened to you, Tristan?_

"Thanks; I try." Tristan chuckled. Something popped into his head, but he quickly told it to shut up. Not that it did much good, but it had to be done.

"So does your room always look this bad?" Jazz inquired.

"There are times it's looked worse. I'm a slob; I admit it. I do clean up sometimes, though, like when the junk gets too much even for me. I've seen a lot worse than this."

"Should clean up your room more often. Still, it's not as bad as Danny's."

"Yeah, I'm sure he's real disappointed Sam didn't belt me in the face."

"I know you guys don't get along, but he's still my brother, so don't say anything like that, understand?" Sadly, Tristan was probably right, but she wasn't going to let him say anything like this.

"All right, fine." (Yeah, and he insults me and I bet he will, you won't be nearly as harsh with him. First meeting went wonderful. Wasn't a total loss, though; got to tear Samantha apart)

"So what do you do in here?"

"I just mess around, sometimes play video games, and do research on my laptop. I work about 20-25 hours a week, depending on how much I'm asked for. Thankfully, I don't need to do a whole lot of studying to pass my classes."

"You can get away with that?"

"Yeah, I usually manage it. That, and I forget things, although I'm not as bad as I once was. Working as a paralegal forced me to get organized. My average grade in college is about a B or so."

"I generally get A's and B's, but then, I probably spend more time studying than you do." She didn't do quite as much anymore, thanks to having Tristan as a boyfriend, but she still spent a considerable amount of time doing it.

"Well, my parents like you, so I'm glad at least something's gone well tonight."

Jazz gave him a long kiss before they finally walked out of the room, while Tristan talked about various novels he liked and some of his future projects. _Well, his parents approve of me, so that's one less thing for me to worry about_. Still, his mother warned her about hurting him. Jazz had a sinking feeling that when she introduced him to her family, things were not going to go very well, if the meeting with Danny, Sam, and Tucker was any indication.

Then again, her parents were expecting another Johnny 13. Least this time she's bringing home a honest, smart and thoughtful human instead of a greasy, motorcycle-obsessed ghost with the intelligence of the Crate Creeper. With parents like Maddie and Jack though, it was honestly no telling how they'd react.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I wish I wish I owned Danny Phantom! Desiree: -turns me into Butch Hartman- AHHHHHHHHH! CHANGE ME BACK CHANGE ME BACK! -is changed back-

Jazz groaned heavily. "No, Emma. We just kissed." Why am I talking to her about my date with Tristan again?

"Seriously?" Emma made a face. "Is that all you do? Just kiss and snuggle?"

"Yes, it's all we've done." Jazz felt her face grow a little hot. "Tristan's been a wonderful guy though.

"But you were alone. In his room. On his bed." Jazz knew she had to be turning light pink by now. "His old folks were probably sleeping and you didn't even go past kissing?"

"We just held each other and kissed. It was nice!" Jazz insisted. Truth be told, the thought crossed her mind, but they were only together for two months. It didn't feel like the right time. Plus her room was really messy.

"Don't tell me," Emma groaned as she plopped into her bean bag chair. "He's a Momma's boy or one of you is one of those really religious people."

"He's not, nor am I," she told her. She waved her feet in the air from her position, lying on her stomach with a book in front of her. She had been reading, but Emma came in and wanted to know how her date last night was and if she even came home. Jazz guessed that Emma was with her own boyfriend or at her parents' house that night.

"Is he...gay...as in...homo?" Emma asked a bit hesitant. "If he is, let me know. Gay guys are supposed to make great shopping buddies."

"No, he's not gay," Jazz insisted. "He's just trying to be polite. It wasn't exactly the best time, not being together very long and in a pretty unromantic place. His room's really messy."

"You sure he's not gay? Cause I really need a shopping buddy."

"Yes Emma! I'm very sure," Jazz sighed. Time to change the subject. Now. "The meeting with his parents went okay. They seem to like me."

"That's good," Emma replied, stretching for the mini-fridge behind her and using the very tips of her fingers to open it to avoid moving. "Then when you two get married they won't be homicidal towards you for taking away their baby."

"We've only been going out for about three months! Why are you talking about us getting married?" _First she's talking about my love life, then we moved onto my non-existent sex life and now marriage? What's wrong with her? Better yet, why am I talking to her about this?_

"Because for once, you're actually keeping a guy that's not just in it for the physical loving," Emma replied, managing to grab a soda. "Don't let a guy like that slip out of your fingers!"

"I'm not going to let him go," Jazz said with a roll of her eyes. _He's stuck with me. Wow, I'm really actually falling hard for him._

"Good. Make sure you're 100% positive he's not gay before you keep him."

"I'm positive he's not gay!" Jazz yelled out. She winced as her neighbors knocked on the wall before telling her to quiet down please, she's trying to study.

Emma snorted in amusement. "Just making sure. Either way, since you're not going to let go of him, make sure he knows you're not letting him go anywhere and to drop those marriage hints after a year of dating!"

"Oh, I think he knows that and if Tristan ever has any doubts, I'll go on and on until he doesn't."

"Good for you...I still want a gay shopping buddy."

"Well, look somewhere else. Just wish the meeting with my brother and his friends went better," she said in disappointment as she rubbed her temples.

"Make a time machine."

"If only I could; Tristan got into a huge argument with one of my brother's friends and she ended up kicking him out of the house."

"Find somebody who knows how to back in time then? And was it your brother's girlfriend? That one he's always clueless about?"

"Yes, it was her, and she was going crazy. I thought she was going to punch him. She did throw something at the back of his head."

"Then you better pray that your parents love him," Emma told her.

"That's what I'm worried about," Jazz stated nervously. "I don't think they will."

"Why not? Sure he's no model but he's a smarty pants and he isn't trying to kill or get you pregnant."

"Because he's a guy and my parents are protective," she said with a small frown at how they acted whenever she brought a guy home. "And what do you mean? I think he's hot!"

"You think he's hot? Wow, I need to introduce you to something called "Guys Outside Your Dorm Room Who's Name Is Not Tristan."

"Yes, I do, Emma." _Hope Tristan never hears that; he's already got insecurities about it._

"Your strange. Runs in the family though, from what I've noticed about your brother. I mean, he's always shivering, you can see his breath and I swear sometimes his eyes and hands are glowing. You know what that means?" Emma grabbed a magazine that was lying on the floor and flipped through it.

"No, not really," Jazz said, her heart pumping a tad faster in fear.

"It means I really need to start taking my medicine," she said, making a small face as she flipped a page. "My parents told me that I'd be all hallucination-y, but I always thought it was a ploy to get me to take it."

"Even if you don't think he's attractive," Jazz changed the subject. "I do. Just hope the meeting with my parents goes better."

"Don't worry," Emma comforted. "It will be."

"I hope so, but I still remember what happened with the last boyfriend I brought over. With the kind of argument he and Sam had, I'm worried. I've never seen her so completely torn apart." He was chased out of the house with the anti-creep stick.

"I remember when I brought my boyfriend over to meet my parents," Emma said, staring off into space.

"What happened?" Jazz asked, desperate for some comforting story.

"They shot him in the arm, he broke up with me and I never saw him again."

Jazz groaned. "Wow, now that is crazy. Just hope they don't do that to him."

"I'm sure they won't," Emma replied, smiling at her.

"I hope not. You know," Jazz confessed. "There are times I'm jealous of him. I think he's smarter than I am."

"He is older and in a higher grade than you," Emma pointed out. "Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things."

"It's not that," Jazz said, rolling her eyes at the statement. "It's just... he can do things I can't. The kind of memory he has..."

"Maybe he's one of those autistic dudes on the news and Discovery Channel!" Emma cried out, eyes widening.

"I've wondered that," Jazz agreed. "He actually memorized my plate just by looking at it. It came in handy when I was trying to get into the wrong car."

"That screams stalker to me."

"It was the first time I used my own car," Jazz defended. "We were going to see a movie and got lost on the way back." Jazz wasn't about to mention to her roommate he was accused of that for the same reason.

"Still screams stalker."

"Don't say that, please. I was actually very impressed at that, and a little jealous."

"The fact that he memorized your license plate does scream stalker!" Emma told her. "I mean, come on. If a stranger did that to you, would you be freaking out? I would!"

"He's not a stranger, Emma; I've known him for a while, even before we started dating." She was beginning to regret mentioning this conversation.

"I know that, but it screams stalker to strangers," Emma said. "Oh! But what's cool is that your kids are guareenteed to be smart and possibly hold his skills."

"Kids? We've been dating for two months. I haven't slept with him, much less talking about kids."

"Still. Something to consideerrr."

"Maybe, but not right now. We've never talked about it." She had thought about being with him, though. _I'm acting crazy here. Love does crazy things though. Wait, love? Do I love Tristan?_ "And just because you're always thinking that way doesn't mean I do."

"Wait, why are we talking bout your love life again?" Emma asked, suddenly asking the question that Jazz was asking herself a while ago.

"Because I really, really like him and he's someone I can have a long-term relationship with," Jazz replied.

"I know that but why are we talking about it?"

"You brought it up!"

"Only because you two didn't get it on," Emma said, snorting in amusement as she flipped through the magazine again. "Prudes."

"Hey, his parents were still awake and waiting for us," Jazz lied. "I may have wanted to, but I wasn't going to do that with them around." _Oh, no, what did I just say?_ "Uh... forget I said that, please."

Emma laughed "I don't think so."

Jazz turned bright red. Emma would never let her live that statement down.

* * *

Danny found himself blasted into a wall. This fight had been going on for several minutes and neither of them were making any headway. He put up an ecto-shield to protect himself against further attacks and did a backflip, returning fire. "You cannot beat me, ghost child!" Technus laughed, currently in the form of a 10-foot robot. It was meant to look intimidating, but to Danny, it seemed like a giant toy. "I am Technus, master of all things electronic."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Danny snapped back, losing patience. "You've given me this speech every time you attack me and you always lose! Don't you ever learn?" Before Technus could reply, he gave his body a kick to the jaw, knocking him over. Danny was thrown back by an ecto-beam, but refused to let that stop him.

Sam blasted him with the Fenton anti-ecto cannon, distracting Technus long enough for Danny to recover. Danny used his ice powers to freeze the robot, shattering it with a powerful fist. His hand stuck, but he did what he needed to do. Technus floated up, looking furious."So you have destroyed another of my machines!" Technus laughed. "It's not going to make any difference, ghost child, for I am..." Danny silenced him with a powerful ecto-blast, punching him repeatedly. "Ow, ow! That hurts!"

"Should have thought of that before you decided to go after me again." Danny snarled, pounding him mercilessly. He threw Technus to the ground, sucking him up into the Fenton Thermos. "Maybe that will keep him from bothering me for a while."

"Wow, I've never seen you go off on him like that before." Tucker admired, but inside he was a little worried. Danny's powers had grown considerably in the roughly 2 and a half years since he had gotten them. At this point, he was nearly at Vlad's level and his powers were still developing.

"I'm tired of dealing with him all the time." Danny explained. "Maybe it'll convince him that it's not worth coming to Amity Park with plans for revenge and conquest only to get his ass kicked in the end." He had been angry the whole day and the ghost fighting was serving as a useful outlet.

"Well, if you really want to vent some frustration, I could think of a good target." Sam grinned.

"Don't tempt me, Sam." Danny sighed. "Well, that seems to be the last ghost for the day. Wow, this doesn't take nearly as much time as it once did."

"I can't believe him!" Sam exclaimed. She had been ranting about it all day. In Tucker's opinion, she was just upset that she lost an argument. "How dare he say those kind of things?"

"Sam, we get it; you hate him." Tucker groaned. He had to admit, he was starting to like Tristan. He stood up to Sam and was even willing to argue with her, something not many were willing to do. "You don't have to agree with him, you know."

"Can you blame me for being mad?" Sam snapped. "Tristan said women are inferior! Why the hell is Jazz dating him, anyway? She should have more sense than this!"

"It's her choice on who she wants to date." Danny sighed. Still, even in spite of his sister's threats, he was going to keep an eye on him. He flew into Tristan's home to see what was going on... needless to say, it took a nearly superhuman effort on his part not to vaporize him. "You know what'll happen if he hurts her."

"I'll be first in line to kill him." Sam smiled. "I'm going to make sure he can't publish any of his stuff anymore. My parents are quite influential when I can persuade them to use it."

"Can't you just leave it?" Tucker protested. "This is a free country and he has a right to his opinion, however little you might like it."

"Not a chance!" Sam sneered. "It's people like him that make this world what it is! Damned sexist pig!"

"Well, I wish you the best of luck, Sam." Danny smiled. Whenever he talked to Jazz now, Tristan's name always came up. He was tired of hearing about it, and she seemed completely enamored with him. He was pretty sure that Jazz wasn't under any kind of spell, but even so, he had a bad feeling about him. (even someone as smart as she is can be charmed. I know how Dash acts, what he does, and I'm not about to let anyone do that to my sister) "Being rich definitely has a few perks."

"And I'm going to make sure he never publishes anything again!" Sam shouted.

"Have you actually read the book?" Tucker wondered. "A lot of the reviews are positive and even a lot of the goths enjoy it." In particular, he looked at the feminist reviews, which were mixed. Some praised the book for showing in a realistic way what the effects of rape and abuse were, while others tore him apart, saying that some of those stories were just impossible. _Wow, this is a lot more complex than I thought._

"I don't need to read that thing; I know what it has!" Sam cut him off. Why couldn't Tucker see what it was? "It's nothing more than propaganda!"

"In that case, he's just an idiot and you don't need to waste your time thinking about him." Danny pointed out. "Jazz will come to her senses soon enough." Danny had to admit, he missed having her around. Some people would be amazed to hear that he enjoyed having an older sister around, but Jazz and Danny were quite close, despite some disagreements. She was helpful when it came to fighting ghosts, she helped him with his homework, and offered emotional support whenever he needed it. He had to admit, part of the reason he didn't like Tristan is because he saw him as an intruder. He was taking Jazz away from him, and it was hard enough to see her because of her increased workload at the college.

"No! He's not getting away with this!" Sam screamed. "Hmm, I wonder what he does. I'm sure they'd like to hear what kind of person he is."

"Sam, stop, damn it!" Tucker exclaimed back. He didn't normally have the courage to stand up to Sam when she was like this, but this was getting out of hand. "You're going to destroy his life just because he beat you in an argument?"

"Okay, let's stop this now." Danny intervened before Sam had a chance to blow up. "I'm tired; who's up for playing Doomed? I've heard they made some major upgrades on it."

"Ohh, sounds fun." Tucker laughed. "Let's see how far we can get without your ultimate cheat code. I heard they added 2 extra levels that are supposed to be nearly impossible to beat. They even divided the game into normal and advanced." Sam sighed, but agreed to play. She wasn't going to let this go, though, not a chance.

* * *

Tristan shifted uncomfortably in the passenger seat.

"Tristan, relax. They're going to love you," Jazz assured him. _I hope so anyway._

"You should know people don't exactly love me very easily," he pointed out to her, biting his bottom lip as Jazz began to slow down and park on the street in front of her house.

"Even if they don't love you, I still will," Jazz said before leaning over. They spent a few moments kissing before Jazz reluctantly pulled away to get out of the car.

Jazz and Tristan both got out of Jazz's car. Jazz immediately took his hand and held it as they walked up to the house together. Jazz took a deep breath as she paused in front of the door.

"This is it," Tristan sighed, biting his lower lip again in nervousness. "Hope they like me."

"If they like you half as much as I do, they'll love you," Jazz assured him, kissing his cheek.

"Yeah, but your brother already hates me," he pointed out, sighing heavily. "He's probably said awful things about me to your parents." He knew he couldn't be entirely sure, but it was a safe way to bet.

"I bet he hasn't." I bet he has, and if he did, I'm going to kill him. "Just relax…It'll be okay."

Tristan smiled before kissing her lips briefly. After they pulled away, they smiled at each other. Jazz opened the door and Tristan felt sick to his stomach. He tried to get himself to calm down, forcing himself to focus and remember that Jazz liked him. _She doesn't know what I do, though._

"I'm here!" Jazz called out cheerfully.

Tristan immediately felt like the ground shook slightly as Jack Fenton bolted up the stairs quite fast for a man of his size.

_Oh my god. He could probably crush me instantly. Least the death won't be painful,_ Tristan thought, staring in half-terror, half-shock at the large man. He glanced at the bowl of fudge he was holding. The question is…is it all fat or muscle? _Or some kind of mix._

Jack Fenton examined Tristan. "Are you a ghost?" he asked as he dropped the fudge and pulled out a ghost hunting weapon. Tristan and Jazz winced at the sound of the fudge crashing to the floor. "Danny! Clean that up!"

"Dad, Tristan is not a ghost," Jazz informed him as the stupid little machine beeped several times before reporting. "He's my boyfriend. I think I've mentioned him before, dad."

"I see." Jack said simply. He dropped his weapon, only to pick up one twice as big. "Hands where I can see them and off my daughter!"

_"Ghost ahead. Turn right and walk ten feet."_

Jack followed the orders and ended up standing right in front of Danny, who was texting. Danny glanced up and stared at the machine.

_"Ghost detected. You must be some sort of idiot to not notice the ghost."_

Danny smiled sheepishly as Jack stared in confusion. Jazz began to feel her heart race in slight fear.

"I guess this one's malfunctioning too," Jack said in disappointment as he waddled down the stairs.

"Where's Mom?" Jazz called after him.

"At the store getting the salad and garlic bread!" Jack called back up.

"Come on," Jazz told Tristan as she took his hand. She led him to the couch and they sat down.

Jazz immediately leaned into him and Tristan, a bit hesitantly, put his arm around her. They didn't dare kiss in Danny's view.

"Ugh, this is gross," Danny thankfully groaned almost immediately. The second he left the room, Jazz immediately locked her lips with Tristan's.

Unknown to either one, Danny walked back into the room, invisible. He plopped down onto the floor and glared at them. He kicked the coffee table, but neither noticed. The couple continued to kiss and snuggle, unaware of anything going on outside their own world.

Danny glared at them before glancing out the window. Relief washed over him as he noticed his mother pulling in the driveway.

"MOM'S HOME!" he yelled, forgetting that he was invisible and in the living room. The couple jumped.

_That little brat was spying on us with his ghost powers,_ Jazz thought, promising revenge.

Maddie walked in through the front door a moment later. Jazz moved away from Tristan so that they weren't snuggled together, a sight that would certainly make her mother a little annoyed, just in time to see Danny carrying the grocery bags into the kitchen. Maddie followed Danny down the hall, but instead peeked into the living room. She froze when she saw Jazz and Tristan. Jazz smiled and stood up to move towards her mom.

"Hi Mom!" she said cheerfully as she hugged her. Maddie snapped out of it for a moment to hug and kiss her.

"Hi sweetie. Who's this?" she asked, glancing at Tristan. She knew Jazz was bringing her boyfriend, but she hoped that this wasn't him.

"This is my boyfriend Tristan," Jazz introduced. She looked at Tristan, who immediately stood and walked over. He shook her hand.

"Hello Tristan," she said, her voice a little shaky, but not very noticeable.

"Hello Mrs. Fenton," he said, smiling politely. Maddie smiled back slightly.

"I need to go put the garlic bread in the oven," Maddie told him to escape.

"I already put it in the oven!" Danny called back. Maddie went into the kitchen anyway.

Jazz took it as a quick opportunity to give Tristan a brief kiss on the lips before she walked into the kitchen.

"What are we having?" Tristan asked, staring at the pot.

"Spaghetti, salad and garlic bread," Danny told him as he opened the salad bag, dumping it into a big bowl.

"Go ahead and get your dad," Maddie told Danny. "By the time the garlic bread's done we'll probably be half-done eating."

Danny nodded and ran down the stairs as Jazz grabbed some plates to set the table. Tristan sort of helped, mainly watching her and occasionally shifting a plate slightly.

Soon Jack and Danny came up the stairs and Maddie handed Danny the salad bowl. He took some and it was passed around. Jack seemed a bit annoyed at having to eat salad, but Maddie said that nobody was eating dessert until they ate salad and spaghetti.

As soon as everybody had a plate and began eating, the awkwardness began.

"So…have you two had sex yet?"

"DAD!" Jazz yelled out, immediately turning bright red. Tristan's cheeks flushed pink.

"Mr. Fenton, we haven't had sex," Tristan assured him. He reached under the table and grabbed Jazz's hand. Jazz squeezed it reassuringly.

"I still don't trust you alone with her," Jack announced before leaning over to Danny and whispering, "Follow them everywhere, and I'll raise your allowance."

"I have an allowance?" Danny asked back in a hushed tone.

Maddie, thankfully, was silent. She just watched the couple.

"What a surprise. You're her father; you're never going to trust me because that's your job."

"Exactly. Where do you live?" Jack asked.

"I live a few miles away," Tristan responded. "Jazz and I met at the college. I showed her something I published and she asked me out." Jazz was tempted to smack her forehead. _Why did he say that?_

"Can I have the exact address? You know, in case she comes home pregnant I need to know where to find you."

"Yeah, that's a great incentive to give it to you."

"I can find you either way! I have ghost-tracking devices!" Jack pulled out one of his many ghost tracking devices and pointed it at Tristan.

"Only one problem with that theory," Tristan pointed out. "I'm not a ghost." _Yeah, this is going great; death threats are just what I need._

"We'll see about that!" Jack turned on the ghost tracker, which was pointing right to Danny. He scratched his head in confusion as Danny immediately jumped up to say he was going to check on the garlic bread.

"Okay... well, believe what you want. Thinking I'm a ghost is about as likely as your son being one."

"Hm. Malfunctioning again. I'll have to take a look at it when I have a chance," he said with a sigh as he aimlessly tossed it behind him. "Danny clean that up."

"Great. Anyway, I know you're looking out for your daughter. I had a little sister and I did the same thing, but your daughter means a great deal to me," he explained, smiling at Jazz who smiled back.

"Dad, Tristan's been great to me, ok?" Jazz intervened. This was exactly what she was afraid of.

"I still don't trust you," he muttered as he glared at Tristan. He remembered how he acted when he was in high school, what he did. He was ashamed of it now, though, and was not about to let anyone else do the same to his daughter. "If she comes home pregnant I'm killing you. Unless you're married. Then I'll have to smile and kill you in my mind. Or I can make a Tristan action figure and kill him with my action figure!" He pulled out an action figure of himself and Jazz.

"Great; have fun."

"I even made one of the ghost boy!" He pulled out one of Danny Phantom, which for a second, Tristan thought was Danny. _Yup, I am going insane._

Now very nervous about the way this conversation was heading, he leaned down to Jazz's ear and whispered: "Can we get out of here, please?" Jack continued to play with his action figures, making noises as Jazz and Tristan left the table. It didn't take long for Danny to follow. Maddie just glanced at the couple worriedly, before Danny got up and followed them. She looked a little relieved at the little chaperone as she watched her husband play with his dolls-er-action figures.

* * *

About an hour later, Jazz and Tristan both said that it was time for them to leave. Jazz had a class and Tristan had some sort of lab that morning. Jazz hugged and kissed her parents goodbye and Jack was willing to shake Tristan's hand. The two walked out, hand in hand. Maddie looked out the window and saw that the two immediately snuggled closer together as they walked to the car, kissing briefly before getting in and driving off.

"Maddie, what's wrong?" Jack asked. He glanced at his son, who was walking upstairs with an ice cream bar while texting. Probably Tucker or Sam.

"Jack, didn't he look familiar to you?" Maddie asked as she watched the car drive off.

"No, not really. Why?" Jack asked. He was a little curious. Tristan didn't seem too bad. He hadn't warmed up to him yet, but Jazz was a smart girl and she seemed to like him.

"Jack, that boy... I can't be sure, but I have a big suspicion. Please excuse me. There's something I need to do," she said as she walked up the stairs. Her heart was pounding heavily in fear, silently hoping that she was wrong. _Please be wrong. Please be just a conidence. He couldn't have somehow found me again._

The second she entered the room she shared with her husband, she turned on her laptop. As it started up, she worried about how to handle the situation if her suspicious were true. Jazz obviously really cared about this boy. It wouldn't be easy to tear them apart if she was right.

The second it was started up, she went to the Internet. Normally, she would immediately read about the latest ghost hunting reports from her colleagues, what scientists had to say about ghosts and new ghost hunting technology and theories, but not this time. This time, she was after more important information.

Fear and a sense of urgency took over her as she began to type. She spent twenty minutes searching. It took her twenty minutes for her one of her worst fears to be confirmed. Her whole life pretty much fell apart again. And it only took about two hours.

All she could do was stare at the screen, taking deep breathes in an attempt to calm herself down. Just because she confirmed her suspicions didn't mean anything major. _Deep breaths. Slow, even breathing. It's alright._ After she managed to calm down some, she closed her laptop and slowly walked down the hall. She glanced at Jazz's old room (which was now a guest bedroom) and Danny's room. Would one of them be the victim this time?

"Jack!" she yelled. "Where are you?"

"In the lab baby!" Jack's cheerful voice called back. "You got a moment? I need some help getting these wires to connect."

Maddie slowly made her way down to the lab. She entered to see Jack working on some giant ghost hunting weapon.

"Jack," she said. Jack acknowledged her presence with a smile, but it immediately dropped once he noticed his wife's terrified expression.

"Maddie? What's wrong?" he asked, putting down his tools.

"I was right," she said, on the verge of tears.

"About what?" Jack asked. He didn't see what was wrong. Wasn't being right good?

"Jack, Tristan is Ken's child."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I wish I wish I owned Danny Phantom! Desiree: -turns me into Butch Hartman- AHHHHHHHHH! CHANGE ME BACK CHANGE ME BACK! -is changed back-

* * *

**We haven't updated in forever simply because we both went "duhhhhhhh" then he messaged me and was like, "We have a fanfiction!" which made me go "OH YEAH" and so here you go.**

* * *

Tristan finished folding up the last of the laundry. Thankfully, he had the next couple of days off at the firm so he could get all of this stuff done. He still needed to mow both yards. _That reminds me; I need to get some more gas._ Tristan was quite aware by now that if his dad said he would get around to it, it would take close to a month. _Hopefully, we won't have to pay another 150 dollars to have the lawn mowed again because we waited too long._

Tristan heard a knock on the door. He felt both anticipation and dread. He opened the door, not sure what he was going to find. A black teenager with glasses, a stupid hat, and an electronic device in his hand was standing there. "If you're here to scream at me on Samantha's behalf, don't bother." Tristan cut him off before he could speak. "Besides, I already have a good idea of what she wants to say to me."

"Wow, it's nice to see you too." Tucker replied a bit dryly. "No, I just decided to stop by."

"All right, come in; just don't wake up my Mom." Tristan replied. He didn't quite trust Tucker yet. Not all the way. He was still a friend of Sam, and he pretty much feared the Goth.. "So what do you want?"

"Jeez, I'm trying to be nice here!" Tucker protested, holding up his hands in surrender. "You don't need to act so hostile."

"Sorry, old habit." Tristan admitted. "When you're in my position, you don't trust people easily."

"Hey, you're talking to a techno-geek that spends half his free time at school in his locker." Tucker sighed.

"Well, that's one thing I can't relate to; I was too fat to stuff in a locker." Tristan admitted.

"Got to warn you, though, Sam is out for blood." Tucker warned him. "She's still ranting to us about what a sexist pig you are."

"That's what I figured." Tristan shrugged. "There's someone on one of the forums of my book ranting on and on and on about what a horrible person I am."

"How do you know it's Sam?" Tucker wondered.

Tristan pretended to think, stroking an imaginary beard. "Let's see; her name is Gothgirl-93, she just joined up a couple days ago, she says she's an 'ultra-recyclo-vegetarian', which sounds like a fancy word for vegan, and promises that she's going to and I quote 'stick her combat boot so far up his ass his brains with splatter, assuming he has any'. Wasn't that difficult to put two and two together,"

"Yep, sounds like Sam." Tucker admitted with a small chuckle. "I must admit, I'm impressed. Not many people can take her on like that and win." Tucker sometimes wanted to argue with her as well, but he was too afraid to.

"Well, she was mistaken." Tristan replied. "She only knows the politically correct version of history that they seem to be teaching in schools everywhere now, was expressing a simplistic point of view, and I decided to try and broaden her mind a little bit. That reminds me: I should have told her that Carbon Dioxide is a naturally occurring substance, not a pollutant, and that it's the plant equivalent of oxygen."

"Dude, where do you learn all this stuff?" Tucker wondered.

"I read articles, read books, look at some of these sites." Tristan replied. "I'd like to know at least something about what I'm arguing about. I came up with ideas that nobody in my environmental science even heard of. Most of them have never heard of oil shale, breeder reactors, the medieval warm period, and so on."

"Uh… Tristan… I've never heard of any of those." Tucker pointed out.

"Well, oil shale is an unconventional oil supply." Tristan explained. This was where he was truly in his element. "Well, technically, it's Kerogen, organic matter trapped in the rock that we can extract and then convert into oil. The largest source is the Green River Formation, found in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. It is conservatively estimated to have 1.5 trillion barrels of oil, enough to keep us supplied at current rates of consumption for 214 years. This, I believe, is a low estimate, since our tendency is to underestimate reserves, and some parts of the formation are not well explored. We've known about shale oil for some time, ever since…"

Tucker was beginning to tune him out. This was kind of interesting at first, but now Tristan was starting to sound like Mr. Lancer. He leaned his head to the side, supporting it with his hand. He didn't seem to notice, continuing to talk about the topic, not seeing that Tucker had lost his interest. Tucker looked at his cell phone to see what time it is.

"Well, that's the basics of oil shale." Tristan finished. "There's obviously more detail and more to the history, but some parts of it I can't remember off the top of my head. Interested to know about breeder reactors?"

"Maybe another time, Tristan," Tucker assured him. He could barely tolerate what Tristan's history lesson on oil shale told him. Well, the few parts he actually paid some attention to. "Anyway, I just wanted to congratulate you on doing what few have ever dared to do."

"No offense, but she doesn't seem like someone who's real tolerant of views that differ from her own." Tristan scratched his head. "I know I shouldn't say this, I know you're friends with her, but that's the impression I've gotten."

"I'd appreciate if you didn't attack Sam too much; she's one of my best friends." Tucker told him. Still, he knew that Tristan's impression was pretty accurate. He remember numerous occasions where Sam criticized Danny for using his ghost powers to get back at Dash and other bullies, but asked him to destroy what she saw an environmentally unfriendly trucks.

"Fair enough," Tristan walked to the refrigerator, taking out a can of soda. "Do you want anything? We have Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, milk, and orange juice."

"I'll… have a Pepsi." Tucker responded. He was not prepared as Tristan tossed him one, nearly dropping it. "So do you have any video games?"

"I have a Playstation 2 and about a dozen games for it." Tristan informed. "I even have a few PS1 games. I know it's primitive, but I still enjoy them, particularly the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro games."

The second Tristan moved to show him, Tucker only had to take a glance to notice that the older male was limping. Didn't look like a serious limp, but he was still favoring his right leg.

"Dude, what happened to your leg?" Tucker asked, moving a hand towards said leg.

"Honestly, no idea." Tristan admitted. "Last night, when I was about to go to sleep, I felt this sudden pain on the back of my leg. I went into the bathroom and I saw a burn on it. No idea where it came from; I haven't bumped into any hot substances recently."

_I've got a good guess._ Tucker thought with a small scowl. If Danny kept this up, there was always the possibility of his identity being exposed. Tucker looked at the Phantom Forum from time to time, which was started by Paulina, and some people even started writing stories about Danny Phantom. Thankfully, they were hugely inaccurate, which meant Danny's identity was safe.

Tristan walked slowly to his room, his limp still apparent as Tucker followed. It wasn't exactly what many would call clean, but still looked better than Tucker's room.

"Any of these games grab your attention?" Tristan asked.

"Digimon world?" Tucker exclaimed in astonishment. "Wow, you really do have old games!"

"They may be old, but I still like him." Tristan raised his hands defensively.

"So… how are things with you and Jazz?" Tucker asked.

"They're going pretty well so far." Tristan smiled. "She hasn't hit me, she hasn't attacked me, so pretty good."

"That's how you define good?" Tucker wondered, a bit taken back. _He got angry at Sam because of what she said. Does he know this from more than just reading?_

"I really like her; she's a great girl." Tristan informed. He had the suspicion that despite his protests to the contrary, Tucker was here to find out what kind of person he was. He wasn't used to being on the receiving end of something like this. "She's smart, beautiful, and has a great smile." Plus, she isn't afraid of me. I wish that was seen more often.

"So what have you done so far?" Tucker smirked.

"Tucker!" Tristan exclaimed. "Look, that's between me and Jazz, ok?"

"Ok, I get it." Tucker sighed. Inwardly, though, his respect for Tristan just went up. He didn't seem like the type of person who bragged about everything he'd done with a girl. "Hey, you have Grand Theft Auto: Vice City! Mind if I play it for a while? My Playstation 3 doesn't let me use old disks."

"Sure, have fun." Tristan told him. "Just so you know, though, Jazz is coming over in about 90 minutes."

"All right, I'll be out of your hair before that." Tucker laughed. "This stuff may look primitive, but it's still challenging. I've never managed to complete the whole game."

"Neither have I." Tristan stated. "The most I've gotten is around 82 percent." Tristan wandered around, picking up a few things out of his room while Tucker enjoyed running people over as Tommy Vercetti.

Tucker had to admit, Tristan was weird, eccentric, and could be a real pain, and yet… he was a decent man and genuinely cared for Jazz._ For what it's worth, buddy, you've won my approval,_ Tucker thought.

* * *

"I must admit, I've never been inside your dorm before." Tristan stated, looking around. He had walked her there, but had never actually gone inside until now. They had gone bowling yet again. Both of them were really starting to improve. They could even play without the bumpers now, even though without them, they rarely got a score about 50. Tristan and Jazz both had some good laughs at each other.

"So what do you think?" Jazz wondered.

"Definitely cleaner than my room, that's for sure." Tristan joked. "Of course, maybe you're just not as lazy as I am."

"Well, I have to pick up most of the stuff around here." Jazz informed. "Emma never seems to get around to it, the lazy bum. She does pay for pizza and Chinese a lot, so I guess she's okay."

"Speaking of Emma, where is she?" Tristan inquired.

"She's out with her boyfriend." Jazz responded. "She won't be back for at least another hour." They were currently sitting on her bed, arms wrapped around each other.

"Really? By the way, I'm already planning a new story I hope to get published." Tristan smiled. Jazz sighed in disappointment; this wasn't exactly the plan. "I'm planning a character at the moment. She's smart… and beautiful… and special." Tristan leaned down and planted soft kisses on her neck, going down her collarbone.

"Really?" Jazz smiled, giggling slightly. Admittedly, this wasn't the conventional form of romance, but she knew what he was attempting. Least he wasn't totally avoiding romance like before. "And just who would this be?"

"She's based on someone who means a great deal to me." Tristan pulled her into his lap, making her giggle more. "I think you know who it is." He kissed her on each of her eyelids. Jazz looked into his eyes, getting lost inside them. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him tightly, not wanting to let go.

"Yes, I think I do." Jazz chuckled. _I love being around him; I don't know how I ever survived without him._

Tristan ran his hand through her hair, hoping not to get his hand tangled in it. "You know, Jasmine, I have a confession to make. Well, two confessions, actually."

"Okay, tell me." Jazz requested.

"The first one is something I should have mentioned some time ago." Jazz was starting to get nervous. Was Tristan breaking up with her? "I… I have a learning disability."

"Tristan, I hate to break this to you, but I already suspected as much." Jazz admitted. Okay, how did they constantly jump from romance to everyday conversation then repeat? It was almost annoying, but he was a sweetheart either way. Guess she should get used to it. So far, she had kept it from Emma. She wasn't 100 percent sure and didn't want to spread anything about him. "Obsessive interests, difficulty with social interaction, hypersensitivity to taste…Asperger Syndrome?"

"Yes; I was diagnosed when I was 14." Tristan admitted. Hopefully her reaction wouldn't be similar to others'. In the past, he had told others, hoping for some understanding, but the general reaction was that they considered him weird and distanced themselves from him. "I had my IQ tested too."

"And what was it?" Jazz asked in slight interest.

"102." Tristan admitted.

"No way!" Jazz exclaimed. "I'm sure it's higher than that. Some of this stuff you tell me I don't even know."

"To be fair, I was paying more attention to the cute grad student than the actual test." Tristan chuckled. Jazz hit him in the shoulder. "Hey, I was 14! Cut me a bit of slack, will you? That was before I met you, and you are obviously much cuter than she was."

"Pervert!" Jazz shook her head. Tristan kissed her lips softly, then each of her cheeks and her forehead. "But your my perv I guess. My sweet perv."

"And my second confession…" Tristan began and then hesitated. _Just spit it out, you wimp!_ "I love you, Jasmine."

"Wow, you love me?" Jazz's eyes widened. Did she really hear that?

"Yes." Tristan admitted, hoping he didn't say the wrong thing. _Please don't tell me I've ruined the only decent relationship I've had._

"I love you too, Tristan!" Jazz exclaimed, hugging him tightly to the point where he was struggling to get air. "You've made me a happy woman!"

"Well, if you love me… you'll forgive me for doing this." Tristan laughed. Before Jazz could ask what he meant, he started tickling her. She fell onto the bed, laughing, squirming around, trying to get away from him.

"I'm going to… ha ha ha… kill you for this!" Jazz laughed. She finally broke away and started tickling him, knocking him onto the bed. "Payback time!"

"Oh, crap!" Tristan exclaimed, now on the receiving end. He had the weakness of being a very ticklish person. However, he was stronger than she was and pinned her wrists down, kissing her passionately. All thoughts of revenge forgotten, she kissed back, their tongues exploring. Jazz moaned softly, feeling almost lightheaded. One of her hands was tangled in her hair, the other rubbing his back.

"You should have told me you were going to have him over," a voice said behind them. They immediately broke apart, Tristan making an excellent impression of a tomato.

"You're home early?" Jazz managed to gasp out, scooting out from underneath Tristan.

"Yeah, Derek and I had a fight and I decided to come back." Emma explained before a pervert-ish grin appeared on her lips. "I must admit, I wasn't expecting this! Next time, just hang a tie on the door." Tristan was stammering, unable to gain his voice.

"We weren't sleeping with each other." Jazz protested, trying to save her boyfriend from further embarrassment. However, she had to admit that the thought was in the back of her mind. It almost intimidated her to think that Tristan could have been thinking that too.

"Not what it looked like to me," Emma chuckled. "How else do you explain you two on the bed, wrestling with each other?"

"I didn't come here to sleep with her!" Tristan protested. "I've never seen her dorm before from the inside!"

"Yeah, sure, Tristan," Emma laughed.

_Well, this definitely killed the mood._ Jazz thought. "Ok, Emma, enough." She stated. "I know you have a perverted mind, but not all of us do."

"I thought you were staying at your parent's house tonight." Emma wondered.

"Oh, yeah, I told my parents I was staying there for the night." Jazz remembered. _I really seem to have my head in the clouds. I just wish meeting my parents went better than it did._

"I can drive you there if you want." Tristan offered. Thankfully, the money he was making on his book sales had really boosted his income, allowing him to repair the car without undue trouble. He really needed to make an escape from this situation. This is not how he expected to spend his day, although he was at least able to see Jazz.

"Sure, I'll let you give me a ride." Jazz replied, sending a warning glance to Emma, who in return, immaturely made kissy noises. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed Tristan's hand and they walked out to the car together. The whole trip, she felt like she was floating in the clouds. _He loves me! He really loves me!_

"Learn how to drive, you moron!" Tristan cursed when he had to swerve out of the way of a car that didn't leave enough time to pass. He felt like saying something far more potent, but wanted to restrain himself when he was near Jazz. After what seemed all too short a time, they got to Fenton Works. Both of them got out.

"I'll see you soon." Jazz promised him, giving him a last passionate kiss. He wrapped his arms around her as she snuggled into him. Reluctantly, they let each other go. She waved at him as he drove off. She didn't feel the ground even once as she walked home.

She opened the door, expecting to see one of her family members greeting her. However, they were strangely absent. The reason she gave Emma was that she frequently felt homesick and needed to be reminded of her family. However, the real reason was that she constantly worried about her brother. His powers had grown greatly, enough to defeat almost any enemy, but she couldn't help herself.

She looked around. So far, the house was empty. That is, until she saw Maddie in the kitchen. Jazz expected her to be working on one of their various devices to catch ghosts (which she sometimes quietly sabotaged when she felt it would detect Danny. Even their ignorance couldn't last forever.) Maddie turned around, and Jazz saw that she was not wearing her customary goggles. _Okay, this doesn't look good._ Jazz thought to herself.

"Jasmine, we need to talk." Maddie informed her.

"Sure, mom, what is it?" Jazz had a sinking feeling about this.

"It's about Tristan." Maddie sighed. "Both your father and I agree that you shouldn't see him anymore."

"Damn it, mom, there's nothing wrong with him!" Jazz exclaimed. Maddie knew she was angry; Jazz rarely swore. "He's a great guy! He's been wonderful to me!" Jazz knew he was kind of strange by most people's standards, but she hoped her mom would know better. Clearly, she was wrong.

"I just have a bad feeling about him, sweetie." Maddie didn't want Jazz to make the same mistake she did as a young woman.

"Mom, I'm an adult and responsible enough to decide who I want to date." Jazz did her best to reign in her temper, but it wasn't easy.

"You're brilliant, sweetie, but you're still young. I've known girls about your age who fell for these kind of boys, who thought they were in love, and who ended up getting their hearts broken. Just trust me on this, please!"

"Fine, can you give me any reason, any reason at all, that I shouldn't see him?" Jazz glared.

Maddie sighed to herself. Could she give the full reason, tell her exactly what Tristan was? "Just trust me; he's not the kind of person you think he is. Sam has already ranted to me. Danny doesn't like him, either, and both of them are good judges of character." Sam's exact words to describe were "A chauvinist who only sees woman as objects. He tore into me just for believing in equality." She ranted for a lot longer than that, including colorful language that Maddie didn't expect from her, but that was the gist of what she said.

"Mom, Sam is angry because Tristan doesn't agree with something she feels passionate about and lost an argument to him." Jazz was slightly disturbed at the kind of vindictiveness she was showing towards Tristan. She knew Sam had a darker side to her, but what she was doing was uncalled for. _How dare she do this to the man I love?_

"She could be right about Tristan." Maddie warned. "Considering who his… look, I'm just trying to protect you, sweetie."

"I'm not about to stop seeing him because you have a bad feeling." Jazz interjected, wondering what her mom was about to say before she caught herself. "He's one of the best people I've met. He's not perfect, but no one is. He's been respectful, he's interesting, he's smart, and cares about what I have to say." Admittedly, they had gotten into debates with her psychology textbook, as Tristan disagreed with what it said, but while she got a bit annoyed, it impressed her that he was able to think that way.

"Look, Jazz. If you have any kind of bad feeling about him, anything, call me. I don't care if it's during the middle of the night." Maddie did what she thought she would never do again: pray.

"Okay, Mom, but it's a waste of time. Besides, I'm legally an adult and I'm quite positive that I'm in love with him," Jazz smiled dreamily to herself. She knew it had only been a short time, but she couldn't help herself. She loved him and he loved her.

"Just be careful, sweetie. I love you." Maddie looked into her daughter's eyes.

"I love you too, mom." Jazz hugged her for several seconds. She heard her cell phone buzz. "Oh, it's Tristan! Hi, it's great to hear from you!" She walked off to where Maddie was unable to overhear the conversation.

After she left, Danny walked into the room. "Weren't able to convince her, huh?" Danny sighed; he shared his parent's feelings about Tristan.

"Danny, remember, keep an eye on him." Maddie insisted.

"I know; Dad already lectured me about it." Danny replied. That wasn't the only thing. He promised Danny 50 dollars per day he spied on him. _And being Danny Phantom makes it so much easier. Can't believe Tucker's starting to hang out with him now._

"Thanks, Danny."

"Oh, Danny, good news!" Jack exclaimed.

"Another ghost invention?" He wondered. This always made him nervous, but at least it told him what to look out for when his parents were on patrol.

"Even better; I now have a Tristan action figure!" Jack laughed, holding a plastic toy in his hand. He pulled out another one, one of himself. "'You can't stop me, fool! Jazz is mine and soon the whole town will be mine!' 'Think again, boy! You'll have to go through Jack Fenton first!" He pretended to have a fist fight between the two action figures. It didn't take long for the Tristan action figure to be thrown back into one of his pockets. "Ha ha, once again, I am victorious!"

Danny shook his head and walked away. Only his dad would vent concern through an action figure. He was feeling very frustrated. Why couldn't Jazz see what was right in front of her face? "I need something to take this out on." He growled to himself.

"I am the Box Ghost!" He heard a voice exclaim behind him.

_Hello, misplaced aggression._ Danny thought, transforming into Phantom.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I wish I wish I owned Danny Phantom! Desiree: -turns me into Butch Hartman- AHHHHHHHHH! CHANGE ME BACK CHANGE ME BACK! -is changed back-

* * *

"Hey, Tristan!" Jazz greeted her boyfriend, jumping into his arms.

"Always great to see you, Jasmine," Tristan laughed. He wrapped his hand into her own, giving her a giant smile.

"Have fun, guys!" Emma waved towards them. She gave the two a wicked grin, which Tristan failed to pick up, but Jazz did not.

"So what do you have planned for today?" she wondered. _Always great to see him smile. _Jazz thought.

"Oh, you'll see." He laughed. Jazz gave him an unreadable look. "Oh, don't worry; I think we'll have fun. It's been a long time since I've done this." He changed the subject. "Does your roommate always tease you about us?"

"Not all the time; just when she's awake." Jazz replied, to which he laughed. They walked out of the dorm and towards Tristan's car. Before she got inside, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. His arms on her back, he returned the kiss, staring into her eyes. They broke apart after several moments and got into the car.

"So where are we going?" Jazz asked him again.

"Oh, you'll see." Tristan laughed. "I think after a while, you'll find it highly entertaining."

They drove for a while before arriving at their destination. "You go to the same gym I do?" Jazz opened her eyes.

"Yeah, been going for a few months now; think I started a couple weeks before we went out together." Tristan admitted. "I must love you, since I'm willing to humiliate myself in front of you."

"And how do you intend to do that?" Jazz couldn't help but beam when she heard him say he loved her; she'd never get tired of hearing it. "I wish you told me where we were going. I don't have my gym clothes."

"I'd let you use a spare set I have, but that's a nightmare I wouldn't wish on anyone." He replied. He walked over and grabbed two racquets, a ball, and two pairs of safety goggles. "So have you ever played before, Jazz?"

"No, I never have, actually." Jazz admitted. "So why did you decide to play racquetball?"

"Well, I used to play this quite a bit with Dad before my mom was hurt in the accident." Tristan replied. "We actually had a good laugh at ourselves."

"So what do you mean by that?" Jazz wondered. She put on a headband of her own, grabbing her racquet.

"Neither of us were any good, missing the ball, the kind of thing." Tristan chuckled. "Just watch and you'll see what I mean." Thankfully, he had decided to book one of the courts in advance, since it was a very busy day today.

"Ok, so I just hit the ball?" Jazz asked him.

"Basically, and it can only bounce on the ground once." Tristan informed. "However, I usually play where you can do so twice, just so Dad and I actually had a chance to really play."

"How often did you play this before?" Jazz wondered.

"About 4 times a week, actually. It was part of our effort to lose weight. If you think I'm fat now, you should have seen me two years ago."

"You're not fat, Tristan; you look great to me." Jazz complimented. That wasn't entirely true, since he was still a husky young man, but the second part of her sentence contained the entire truth.

"Thanks, Jazz." He smiled. Even after dating her for close to 3 months, it still surprised him when she complimented him. "Okay, ready?" When she nodded, he served the ball. She swung the racket, smashing the ball at the wall. They continued the round for about 25 seconds before Tristan scored a point.

Tristan smirked at her and bounced the ball again and served it, or tried to, but ended up missing the ball. Jazz looked at him, laughing. "I see what you mean." Jazz chuckled, but inside, she was a little worried. Was he going to think she was attacking him?

"Hey, I told you." Tristan replied. "Well, I think you have two things today: exercise and entertainment." He handed the ball to Jazz, who decided to try a serve of her own. She smashed the ball into the wall, forcing him to run to have a chance of hitting it, but he managed to do so, and scored another point.

However, as they continued to play, Jazz was rapidly getting the hand of the game, and had the advantage of greater coordination. "Hold on, Tristan." Jazz asked him before he served again. She took off the safety goggles and wiped them off. "I'm having a hard time seeing with these things."

"I know, but I don't want to end up hurting you." Tristan looked at his girlfriend. "It might be rubber, but that thing can hurt, especially if it gets you in the eye. It's happened to me a couple of times."

"Thanks for the concern, Tristan." Jazz replied, putting them back on. They continued playing and her boyfriend's prediction ended up coming true. She managed to have plenty of laughs watching him chase after the ball, swing and sometimes miss.

However, she did have to admit that this was not a game she particularly enjoyed playing. She much preferred aerobics and swimming to racquetball. Still, Tristan seemed to be enjoying himself and even now, she didn't see him smile like that very often.

"So did you start playing this?" Jazz wondered. She was winded, but less so than he was.

"Dad and I started going to the gym after his younger brother had a heart attack." Tristan explained. "He managed to survive, but it gave him a real wake up call. He's 58, diabetic, and doesn't take good care of himself, so I suggest playing this. It seemed more fun than just riding a bicycle or jogging."

"Okay." Jazz replied, not knowing what else to say. She did plenty of running, usually when her brother was fighting Ghost-X. He was far from his only enemy, but one of his most persistent ones.

Considering that Tristan physically resembled his father, it was easy to forget that he was actually his step-father. Jazz had asked him about his real father a couple of times, but whenever she mentioned it, Tristan would become deaf until the subject was changed.

She hit the ball just before it bounced a third time, but aimed wrong and ended up hitting Tristan on the side of the head, making him curse. She ran over to take a look, hoping he wasn't hurt too badly. "Tristan, are you all right?" She asked, moving his head so she could take a look.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tristan replied. He then quipped: "This'll be a better workout than I thought if I have to dodge you as well."

"You sure you're all right?" Jazz knew she probably sounded overbearing, as Danny frequently told her, but she couldn't help herself.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tristan took the ball. They played for a few more minutes before Jazz said she was tired out and decided to end it. Truth be told, she wasn't, or not very; she just didn't enjoy racquetball. Afterwards, each of them went inside the locker rooms, took a brief shower and left.

Just as they were about to get in a car, Jazz blurted out: "Tristan, I lied."

"About what?" he raised his eyebrows slightly.

Jazz sighed, hoping he wouldn't be too upset. "I'm sorry, Tristan, but I just don't enjoy racquetball the way you do."

"I was just trying to surprise you, do something we haven't done before." Tristan replied. _Nice going, moron, _He told himself. "Do you just want to go back to your dorm or would you like to do something else?"

"Is there anything else you'd like to do?" Jazz wondered, starting to feel guilty.

Tristan thought for a short time. "Well, is there a movie you're interested in seeing." He wondered.

"No, I've seen the previews and the ones that are out now frankly look like crap."

"True; just throwing it out there," _So do you have any other brilliant ideas?_ "Could always watch one at my house; My dad's at work and Mom's at physical therapy." He was really hoping Jazz wouldn't take this the wrong way.

"Sure, we can go." Jazz shrugged. This date had been kind of lousy so far, but hopefully, it would perk up. When they arrived at his home, Tristan opened the door for her with exaggerated chivalry, making her giggle. "You don't have to do that, you know."

"Just trying to be nice," Tristan informed. "That reminds me; last semester, I actually did an experiment. I held the door open for a bunch of people over the course of a week to see how many said thank you."

_Only you, Tristan. _Jazz laughed. "And what were the results?"

"Out of 100 of each gender, I was thanked by 56 guys and 73 girls." Tristan stated. "Kind of a weird experiment, I admit, but I was curious." He looked down at a giant stain on the carpet. "Tucker ended up spilling grape juice on the carpet." He offered by way of explanation.

"And why did that happen?" Jazz wondered.

"He was literally kissing his smartphone when he saw it still worked and wasn't paying any attention." Tristan laughed. "I accidentally sat on it when we were playing video games."

"That's Tucker for you." Jazz laughed. She set her head on his shoulder, her arm around his waist. "So what do you want to do?"

Tristan gently pulled out of her grip. Grinning, he hugged her tightly, picking her up, making her gasp in surprise. He walked about 15 feet before putting her down.

"Now where did that come from?" she wondered.

"For one thing, I was just showing off." Tristan admitted. "That, and I enjoy holding you in my arms."

"Aww, thanks, Tristan," Jazz smiled. They sat down on the couch, arms wrapped around one another. Tristan's lips brushed against her neck, sending shivers through her body. She snuggled into his chest and looked up into his eyes, smiling. He traced his hand along her thigh, hoping he wasn't being inappropriate.

Jazz turned around, leaning up and kissing him on the lips. She sat in his lap, arms around his neck. "What's in your pocket?" Tristan asked. He had a knack for saying things at the most random time possible. They were in the middle of making out and he asked her that?

"It's one of my parent's ecto-guns." Jazz explained. "They're always worried that I'll be attacked by a ghost, so they insist on me carrying this thing."

"Probably a good idea, considering where we live," Tristan admitted. He still remembered in vivid detail their third date, when that robotic ghost showed up. He could hardly believe that she was actually heading towards him. "This is the ghost capital of the world. I wonder why people still live here. Not that I mind of course. If we hadn't moved here, I would never have gotten to know you." He kissed her on the lips again.

"Thanks, Tristan." Jazz smiled. "I love you."

"Love you too, Jazz." Tristan said back. "That reminds me; there's something I want to try."

"And what would that be?" She wondered. Jazz wasn't sure what to do now. Truth be told, Tristan had kind of surprised her when he said that.

Tristan picked her up and set her on his back, walking around the living room. "Oh, just this," He laughed at her. "I used to carry my sister around when we were younger."

"How old is your sister?" Jazz wondered. She wasn't about to let this pass her by. He had mentioned that he had a sister, but never gave her any more detail than that.

"She's my twin, actually." He admitted. "She also tried to carry me around. Course, she never managed to go more than a few seconds before falling… unlike me."

_Emma is never going to let me live this down. _Jazz thought. _I can hear her now: "You're telling me that you were in his house alone and all you did was cuddle and act like kids?" _"So why doesn't she live with you guys?"

"Long story," Tristan replied, which irritated Jazz a little bit. Still, she didn't want to push him and ruin the mood. He continued carrying her for a while before dropping her on the couch, making her squeal.

"Why didn't you warn me?" Jazz demanded.

"How would that have been funny?" Tristan asked innocently.

"You're lucky you're cute, or I'd kill you for that." Jazz warned. Tristan leaned in and kissed her, his hand stroking her hair softly. She pulled him into her arms, hugging him from behind. His head was on her shoulder as she leaned back onto the couch. _I could stay like this all day. _She admitted to herself.

Eventually, though, they decided to end the date. Tristan was glad that things went well after all, even though it kind of got off to a bad start. They went outside, just walking around town, enjoying the sunlight and each other's company. "Aren't you worried that someone's going to try and steal your car?" Jazz wondered. _Where did that come from? Now I'm acting as randomly as him!_

"In that case, he'll be guilty of Petty Theft Auto." Tristan replied, laughing at his own joke. He looked at Jazz and said: "Well, it was worth a try."

"It wasn't that bad, actually." Jazz admitted. She had heard a lot worse from her brother during his ghost fights. No sooner did she think of him that she saw Danny, Sam, and Tucker walk down the road, engaged in conversation. _Oh, no, we'd better get out of here. _She started tugging on Tristan's arm, trying to get him away before they were noticed.

"Oh, great, it's you, Samantha." Tristan glared at the trio. _Great, this is just how I wanted to end the date._

"Oh, great, it's the sexist." Sam glared back. _Who did he think he was, attacking her that way?_

"Translation: someone who lost an argument." Tristan replied. He was really growing to hate Samantha. _Couldn't she just let this go? Nobody won all the time._

"Translation: Somebody who cheated in an argument." Sam sneered. He didn't win; he just left in the middle! The fact that she demanded he leave didn't cross her mind.

"You're just saying that because you lost and rather than admit it, you accuse me of cheating." Tristan was getting very tired of this. He would much rather debate his history professor. True, they disagreed on nearly everything, but he didn't attack him for it or lower his grades! In fact, they got along with each other quite well, often discussing things after the class had ended.

"Yeah, but only if you don't cheat!" Sam exclaimed. There was no other way she could possibly have lost!

"I didn't cheat. You were the one who resorted to personal attacks, the one that threw me out, and the one who threw something at my head. Therefore, I won." Tristan could hardly believe she was going this far.

"I didn't throw anything at your head. And I only kicked you out because you kept spreading lies and rumors." Sam spat.

"You consider them lies because you disagree with them. And I know when somebody throws something at my head." Really, how stupid did she think he was? _Wait, why am I asking that? I know the answer!_

"No, because you don't have anything legit to back yourself up." Sam had heard this kind of propaganda before.

"I told you before, I've read on the subject. You just don't like it because it conflicts with your preconceptions. And by the way, my book sales have gone up ever since you started this crusade. Thanks, Samantha!" At first, when he learned about these protests she tried to organize, he was worried that his publisher would take the book off the market. However, he was reassured that nothing of the sort would happen and indeed, found his book sales go up after her crusade. _Suppose I owe you one, Samantha._ Tristan laughed to himself.

"Only came up because it's good fiction. It's not like anything in there is true," Danny and Tucker didn't really know what to do. Danny didn't like Tristan at all, but this kind of viciousness wasn't like her.

"On the contrary, some of them are based on true stories." Tristan had interviewed various people and asked for their permission to write the short stories. He also had a great-uncle who used to work for Special Victims for a couple years, saying that what he had heard still haunted him. He had his misgivings about publishing the book in the first place, but his parents had encouraged and after over 20 rejections, found someone who was willing to do so.

"Yeah right!" Sam scoffed.

"Believe what you want, Samantha. I'm not going to waste my time trying to convince you. Go ahead and keep protesting; I'll even give you magic markers to make signs." _Maybe I should stop reading "The Dilbert Future"._

"Sam, enough." Jazz interjected. "Can't you two even try to get along?" _Really, both of them were acting like children!_

"I don't want your magic markers. And Jazz, you're in college. You're pretty smart, graduating valedictorian and all. Can you educate your lover a little?" Sam couldn't believe Jazz actually liked this bastard.

"She's my girlfriend, not my lover." Tristan pointed out. He couldn't deny that he wanted to sleep with her, but felt it was a bit too soon to take that step. _Besides, I want Jazz to know I love her, not just her body. Her really, really great body. Why is she with me again?_

"Hey, both of you have the right to believe what you want." Jazz was doing her best to try and stay out of this, while hoping that Tristan would just back down and leave. However, that wasn't in the nature of either of them. _Please, Tristan, for my sake, just turn around!_

"Yeah, but he doesn't have to go around and preach it like Christianity or Mormonism." Who the hell would publish something like that, anyway?

"The only one doing that, Samantha, is you." Tristan pointed out.

"No, I'm standing up for what I believe in. Difference." Sam glared.

"You're the one who started this, and you're the one who resorted to personal attacks. You didn't have to confront me here; you chose to. I have the feeling you just don't like people who disagree with you." Tristan had met those sort of people on campus. He had gotten into heated arguments with them as well, though they never hunted him down the way Sam was.

"Enough, both of you!" Jazz snapped; she needed to put a stop to this before someone got hurt. "Sam, stop arguing with him. Tristan, just ignore her." She was gently pulling on his arm, trying to defuse the situation.

"You can't defend him either is why, huh?" Sam laughed. "That doesn't surprise me at all. Maybe you should consider getting a boyfriend that isn't a sexist."

"Screw you, Samantha! It's a waste of time talking to you." Tristan had enough; he wanted to enjoy his date with Jazz, not get into another argument with a nutcase. He held Jazz's hand and walked a couple steps.

"Let's just go, Tristan." Jazz smiled; maybe they could end this date on a positive note after all.

"Quit calling me that!" Sam screamed ran towards them, refusing to back down. She lost her temper and punched Tristan in the eye. He gripped it in pain, while Jazz watched open-mouthed.

"Why should I care what you think, being the anti-conformist hypocrite you are!" Tristan was rapidly losing his temper. He tried to end the fight and she wouldn't let him!

"Thought she was a non-conformist." Danny pointed out.

"Non-conformist is when someone doesn't care if something is popular or not. Anti-conformist is when someone doesn't likes something because it's popular." Tristan informed them. Jazz stared in confusion. He was in the middle of a fight with a pissed off Goth and he still spouted off various tidbits of knowledge. _What a dork. Least he's my dork._ Sam threw another punch, but this time Tristan was prepared and grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me!" Sam struggled in his grip, trying to break free, but couldn't break his grip. She had to admit, she was now a bit afraid.

"Listen and listen well. I'm tired of your crap and your hypocrisy." Tristan had thrown aside all pretense of civility by now. Sam groaned, as he didn't realize, in his anger, how tight his grip was. "You claim to be for individuality, but you attack and deride anyone who disagrees with you. You attack me verbally, you throw things at me, even punch me, all because you can't accept the fact that I have a different opinion than you! You think what you're doing is somehow "exposing" me? The only one you're exposing, Samantha, is you!" _What you're doing says far more about you than it does me, Samantha._ Tristan mentally shook his head. He cautiously let her go, ready in case she tried to punch him again.

"Sam, stop!" Jazz snapped. "You're acting like a little kid! Leave him alone!" _Well, I guess this date is ruined. Tristan might be partly to blame, but Sam could have also backed down; she hasn't. This conflict between them was beginning to affect the friendship with her.I mean, it used to go so well when we were Ghost Getters. _

"Jazz, stop attacking her!" Danny exclaimed, not believing that Jazz was taking his side. "You're supposed to be friends!"

Jazz felt a small panic when one of the police cars that had been hanging around a resteraunt suddenly pulled out of the parking lot and drove towards them. The policeman stepped out and walked over to the two, holding each apart to prevent more punches.

"What's going on here?" he asked, giving all the teens the Look.

"He attacked me!" Sam accused Tristan, a few fake tears beginning to form.

"You attacked ME, Samantha!" Tristan protested." I was just defending myself!" His eye was throbbing and it was a bit difficult to see through it, although it was beginning to clear up.

"I have a bruise forming from where he grabbed me!" Sam stuck out her arm. Sure enough, there was a red mark on her forearm. Despite his anger, Tristan felt a little guilty. _Never seem to know my own strength,_ he thought.

"You punched me twice!" Tristan wasn't about to let her accuse him, though. "Why do you think I have a black eye forming?" Even as he said it, though, he had a sinking feeling that he wasn't going to be believed. Jazz was silently, still in shock. She couldn't believe that this was happening!

"So what did you see, son?" The officer turned towards Danny.

Danny stayed silent for several moments. Should he side with Sam or tell the officer what happened? Eventually, he hesitantly said: "He attacked her."

"I did not!" Tristan screamed. He was furious at Danny! He didn't expect for them to be friends, since he was dating his older sister, but he had no right to pull this kind of shit! Well, I'm screwed. Gee, this is a rather familiar story; if I wanted to live in a damn soap opera, I could have stayed in high school.

"He attacked her and he had that black eye yesterday," Danny told the officer. He felt weak to his stomach, but he was not about to let Sam get in trouble for lying. Sam was his best friend, and Tristan was just another Johnny 13.

"Well, young man, I'm afraid you're under arrest for assault. Ma'am, you're going to have to come with us to the station to make a full report." The officer handcuffed Tristan, who was shaking in rage by now. He was read the Miranda rights as he was escorted to the police vehicle. Sam smoothed her hair before she slipped into the front seat, both of them heading to the nearest station.

"Danny, how could you lie like that?" Jazz was furious at her little brother. _How could he do this to him? You're going to be spending the night in the Thermos._

"You know I get nervous under pressure! Besides, I can't risk going to the police station. Danny Phantom is a wanted guy, what if they make a connection?" Danny felt he had to justify it somehow. However, it failed to get rid of the hole in his stomach.

"It's one thing to stay silent! It's another to deliberately lie!" Jazz screamed, making Tucker cower slightly. "Don't tell you just got nervous; I know you better than that! You're supposed to be a hero! How heroic are you acting now?"

"I can't stay silent when a cop specifically asked me a question and expected an answer!" Danny protested.

"You could have told him the truth, Danny!" Jazz lectured. "Sam threw the first punch!" She was going to have to reconsider hanging out with Sam. She knew Sam had a vicious side, but nothing justified this!

"Tristan will be fine!"

"Fine? You've just sent him to jail for something he didn't do!" Jazz knew that was his biggest insecurity. Tristan hadn't told her everything, but from the details that he did confess to her, it had happened before and when it did, few believed his innocence. Now he was falsely arrested. What is this going to do to happen? It took over a month to get him out of his shell! "It doesn't look like that to me! Sam lied to him and so did you; what do you think is going to be the result of that?"

"Dude, she's got a point; doesn't look good for him." Tucker was also angry with Sam. He had gotten to know Tristan and while he was strange, he was an honorable young man. "You know what happens in the shower in prison."

"He'll be fine! It's just jail! Not like it's a prison sentence." Danny tried to inform Jazz. "He'll be out in two days max."

"It's still going to be on his record for the rest of his life." Jazz clenched her fist. She didn't dare hit him, taking notice of the other police car hanging out in the parking lot. "And something like this can get him locked up for up to a year!"

"I thought you only got on the records for stuff like rape and being a murderer." Danny said a bit quietly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"No, anything you get arrested for as an adult stays on your record." Jazz shook her head. Danny was starting to understand the magnitude of what he had done, but refused to admit it, even to himself.

"Ah. Guess he's screwed then." Danny tried to sound casual, but a small wince was heard in his voice.

"Thanks to you and Sam!" Jazz snapped. _He's starting to feel guilty, as he should!_

"Relax! We can just get it removed!"

"How?" Jazz demanded.

"I don't know! You know more about this than I do!" Danny threw up his hands.

"It's likely that we can't get it removed." Jazz sighed. "Leave, Danny; I don't want to even look at you right now."

"Whatever. It's going to be fine Jazz." Danny walked off with his hands in his pockets, lost in his conflicting thoughts.

"Actually, we can get him released." Tucker pointed out. "I was recording it on my smartphone. Man, this baby is great!" He started fiddling with it.

"Then come on; we'd better get to the station!" Jazz exclaimed. "Thanks, Tucker!" She hugged him enthusiastically.

"Jazz… air." Tucker gasped.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Danny Phantom! Desiree: -turns me into Butch Hartman- AHHHHHHHHH! CHANGE ME BACK CHANGE ME BACK! -is changed back-

* * *

Tristan glared furiously at his cell mate. The man was only a couple of years older than he was, but looked close to 40. "You're going to pay for that." _Just what I need, another asshole taking a swing at me! _He was about to pounce on him when he heard a voice.

"You're free to go, Mr. Cannon." One of the guards informed him. Tristan turned his glare towards him, not affecting him in the least. He had seen hatred from far more dangerous people than the young man.

"He-he, your last name's Cannon." The addict chuckled, doing an excellent impression of Beavis and Butthead.

"Fuck you!" Tristan yelled back, shutting him up. He walked out of the holding cell, not wanting to look at anyone. _I'm going to need to spend a long time on the console._

He arrived near the station, where Sam was walking out, still ranting, while Tucker followed her, staying a respectful distance from her. He gave Tristan an apologetic look, but quickly looked away from him as well when he saw that hateful glare. Sam took notice and told him Fuck You in sign language.

Tristan saw Jazz at the station, and turned his head, not even wanting to look at her. He walked out of the station, just wanting to go home. _Don't follow me; just leave me the hell alone. _He silently pleaded.

"Tristan! Are you okay? Your eye is getting worse." Jazz gasped, running up to him. Instead of red, his eye was turning into a dark shade of black.

Unfortunately for Jazz, seeing her had just ignited his feeling of betrayal. "Well, let's see. I've been wrongfully accused, thrown in jail, got to spend the night with 2 drug addicts and a prostitute, and to top it off, my eye is now black? How do you think I am?" Tristan snapped at her. He was currently in a very bad mood. One of those drug addicts had decided to punch him in the eye, yet again, and he was about ready to jump him when he was informed that he was released.

"I'm so sorry bout Danny." Jazz apologized. "Do you want some ice for your eye? Does it hurt? I have some Advil in my purse." She stuck her hand into it, rummaging for the Advil; she figured he could use it after everything that happened.

"I'm fine. By the way, thanks a lot for sticking up for me." Tristan glared at her, making her take a step back.

"I'm sorry about that too, Sam and I were friends I didn't think she would go that far." Jazz shook her head. _This is getting out of hand. _She thought. _I'm going to need to have a very serious talk with her._

"Why didn't you say anything when I was getting dragged into a police car?" Tristan yelled at Jazz. He was furious; furious with Samantha, angry with Danny, angry at just about everything. Jazz looked surprised. He had never yelled at her, never hit, never even really showed much hint of anger that was directed towards her. It scared her a little.

"I don't know, it was such a shock." Jazz tried to defend herself, but it sounded hollow even to her own ears.

"A shock? Yeah, all you had to do was say something, anything!" Tristan clenched his fists. Old memories were coming back to the surface, only adding to his anger. "Instead, you just watched! I would have said something if I was in your position." _I would have told him the truth; I wouldn't have stayed in shock!_

"I know and I'm sorry." Jazz apologized again. She tried to be patient with him; he probably had a right to be angry after everything that had happened. "It will never happen again, I swear. The charges were clear, it's not on your record and Sam has a fine. Tucker got that video." However, considered that Sam was wealthy, even considering just her allowance alone, she doubted it was going to teach her much of a lesson. Even after she was caught, she tried to justify herself. _Just think about it, Tristan. You're off the hook, just calm down… please._

"She should be sitting in jail for a night, learn how it feels." Tristan laughed bitterly. "It's still no excuse for saying anything in the first place!" _But no, god forbid she get in any real trouble! _

"I'm not the only one who was too surprised to speak up." Jazz protested. "Tucker didn't either and if Danny hadn't screwed it up by siding with Sam I would have gotten a chance." Jazz knew why Danny sided against him; because he liked Sam and wasn't going to let her get into any kind of trouble. His sister and the love of her life can get in trouble, hurt and possibly die but HEAVEN FORBID his precious Sam finally get in trouble her punk ass has somehow managed to avoid.

"I don't expect any better from him." Tristan cut her off before she could say more. "We still barely know each other, but I expected better from you. Imagine my surprise." Why was he surprised at this, anyway? It wasn't like this kind of crap hadn't happened to him before. But…for some reason, he expected Jazz not to do the same. _Shows what I know! _Tristan snarled to himself.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what else you expect me to do."

"I can't believe you!" Tristan exclaimed. In the back of his mind, a voice was telling him that it wasn't her fault, that she was trying to help; that voice was quickly silenced.

"What are you saying? Do you not like me anymore because I made a little mistake?" Jazz started to feel fear in her heart. _Please don't break up with me, Tristan. I'm just trying to help you; I love you! Can't you see that?_

Evidently, he didn't. "Little? Do I have to remind you that I ended up in jail because you didn't speak out earlier? And of course, Miss Manson gets off lightly." He lost his surprise at this a long time ago. He always seemed to get screwed over somehow.

"She has to pay a hefty fine, it's not all that lightly."

"She's rich! That's nothing to her!"

"Her parents are rich, not Sam!" Much as she hated to admit it, Tristan had a point on that one. She got a hefty allowance, allowing her brother and Tucker to go with her to expensive events.

"And I'll bet they give her enough money in a week to pay the whole damned fine." _And what's going to stop her from pulling that crap again? I used to think you'd stand by me; now I'm not so sure._

"Maybe, but the point is that everything is going to be fine now." Jazz said a little hotly. "This isn't on your record and you're not in trouble anymore." Even as she said that, it was obvious that she was fighting a losing battle.

"Maybe not officially, but it's always nice to know this is not something I can escape. As if I needed to be reminded of that again!"

"I know what you've told me, Tristan, and I'm truly sorry. It's not fair to you and I wish I could change it." She walked closer and put her hand on his, trying to reassure him. However, he angrily pulled himself out of her grip, which was when she began to get truly upset.

"Oh, thank your brother for me, will you?" Tristan spat. Inside his head were images of both Danny and Sam screaming in agony, crying out and pleading. He knew that he'd never actually try do anything of the kind, but thinking about it helped him a little bit.

"I'm not talking to him now, tell him yourself."

"Why am I not surprised that he's blinded? Just go away, Jazz." Tristan was tired of this; he wanted to be left alone.

"Fine. You can call me when you can accept my apology." Jazz had finally had enough and snapped back at him. This wasn't her fault; she didn't deserve this!

"Just go!" Tristan turned his back on her and walked home. After he disappeared, Jazz broke down in silent tears. She was angry with Tristan for taking his anger out of her, but part of her felt he was right. What if she had spoken up earlier? Trying to pull herself together, she gloomily walked home.

* * *

Jazz walked inside Fenton Works, just wanting her family to leave her alone. However, Danny was waiting for her and ran down the stairs, his eyes wide. "Look, Jazz, I just want to say…" Danny began, but Jazz cut him off.

"I don't want to hear it, Danny." Jazz snapped, her voice choking slightly. She wanted to stick him in the Thermos, or the Ghost Zone, but right now, she was just too tired to do anything. "Tristan's angry with me and he may even break up with me. I hope you're happy." She dashed up the stairs to her room, leaving a guilt-ridden Danny behind.

She dialed her phone, hoping to reach her roommate. "Emma, are you there?" Jazz asked. She just needed someone to talk to.

"Yeah, sup?" Emma replied, wondering why she hadn't gone back to the dorm. She just assumed that she and Tristan were having fun on their date and it lasted longer than believed.

"Sorry, I just need to talk to someone right now." Jazz told her.

"Sure. How are things?" Emma wondered, beginning to get a little worried.

"Me and Tristan just had a major fight." Jazz confessed, feeling some tears beginning to form.

"Bout what?"

"Sam attacked him and Tristan ended up in jail."

"Did he kick her ass or the other way around?" At least to Emma, it could have gone either way. Tristan was big, but Sam was a tough girl.

"She punched him, he restrained her, and a police officer showed up." Jazz stated.

"Oh my god! Was the police officer cute?"

"Who cares?" Jazz snapped at her friend and roommate

"I do!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just upset," Jazz apologized, barely sounding like she was sorry at all. "Tristan might break up with me; he's really mad."

"I get why. He got arrested."

"He's mad at me!"

"What did you do?"

"Me and Tucker got him out of jail, but he blamed me for ending up in there."

"Nice job."

"I didn't speak up when he was arrested. I just couldn't believe that Sam would do this and that my brother would support her." It still astonished Jazz, even though she saw it with her own eyes.

"Your brother hates every guy you date, what did you expect?"

"Still, it doesn't mean he has to deliberately lie."

"He lied? I thought you meant just stayed silent or something." That didn't sound like Danny to her.

"No, I mean he lied to the officer, saying that he attacked Sam when he didn't."

"Whoa. Was the police officer a guy or a girl?"

"It was a guy; why does it matter?" _Do you always have to be perverted, Emma? This really isn't the time!_

"Cause I still want to know if the officer was cute, and also if it was a girl I could have pointed out some sexism there."

"Don't let Sam hear you say that." Jazz gave a weak laugh, trying to make a joke, but it failed and she began to cry again. Apparently, also loud enough so that Emma was able to hear it.

"Oh, god. You're crying." Emma had to admit, this was more serious than she had thought. She thought it was something mild, but if her friend thought he was going to break up with her…

"I'm sorry, Emma; I've just had a lousy day, hoping that Tristan doesn't break up with me."

"You can always hook up with the police officer. Did he have a wedding ring?"

"I don't want him to break up with me; I love him." Even as upset as she was, she felt almost obligated to defend him."

"Awww," Emma cooed before she began to sing, horribly off-key, the tune of Cinderella's _So This is Love_.

"Not a good time, Emma." Jazz sighed, shaking her head even though they were over the phone and thus, it wasn't seen.

"It's always a good time for Classic Disney!" Emma was hoping this should cheer her up a little bit.

"Maybe for you, but I don't want to lose him!" Jazz wailed. "Maybe I should try to talk to him in a day or two, once he's calmed down."

"Good idea."

"Thanks for being there, Emma."

"Seriously though; The police officer?"

"I don't know; I didn't look." Why was Emma so obsessed with men, anyway?

"Well you now have no more use for me unless you bring me home food." Emma teased.

"I'll stop by tomorrow; just hope I can fix this." Jazz promised.

"Bring food, I had my boyfriend over last night."

"I'll bring it. I'm going to see if I can get some sleep." Jazz groaned. _Doubt I'll manage it anytime soon, though._ "Maybe if I'm lucky, this is just a nightmare."

"Pinch yourself."

"I can always hope." Jazz knew thinking that was foolish, but she would much rather have this be just a figment of her imagination.

"Pinch yourself right now."

"Good night, Emma."

"Night Jazz." Jazz hung up the phone and sighed. She buried her face inside her pillow and began to cry again. Did he hate her now? Did he think she was just another person that he couldn't rely on? She held onto her pillow tightly, tears streaming down her face. She moved her legs close to her chest, unable to stop crying.

And it was this scene that Danny had been watching. Yes, he was spying on her yet again. Danny felt horrible seeing his older sister so upset; the fact that it was partially his fault made it even worse. _I've been trying to protect her, but all I've done is make her miserable. _Danny thought. He knew his recent behavior was uncalled for, especially going into her boyfriend's house and burning his leg. He was supposed to be Danny Phantom, but lately, he had been acting like Vlad. _I'll talk to Tristan tomorrow. I still hate him, but he seems to make you happy, sis. I'm still going to keep an eye on you, but I won't interfere anymore._

Jazz's body had stopped shaking. He moved in closer and saw that she was asleep, tears still cluttered around her eyes. Danny brushed them away softly, sitting next to her. _I'll fix this, Jazz, I promise._

* * *

"You're not getting away this time, ghost-child." Skulker laughed. He had decided to work with Ember to try and bring him down. Danny dodged the various shots Skulker launched at him, only to be spun around by one of Ember's guitar blasts.

"This really isn't a good time, Skulker." Danny glared at the two. He had just gone to see Tristan and to put it mildly, it hadn't gone well. "I'm giving you only one warning: leave!"

"Oh, we're so scared, dipstick!" Ember laughed. Skulker began chanting her name, partly out of adoration but mostly from strategy. "What are you going to do? You forgot that stupid Thermos of yours."

"Maybe I don't need it to defeat you two!" Danny snapped, firing a powerful ecto-blast at Ember. This was different, though; instead of green, it was a pink ecto-blast. _Whoa, I can do that now? I really am growing stronger. Why after so many failed attempts, they still try to defeat me?_

"Impressive, whelp, but not good enough!" Skulker exclaimed, firing a new net he designed at Danny, hopefully one that could contain him. Danny simply laughed and tore through it.

"Well, I warned you." Danny grimaced at him and duplicated himself into 4. It felt great to finally vent some of his anger at someone. Even Dash knew better than to go after him now; he was ready to teach them the same thing.

Three of them went after Skulker, while the original went after Ember. He punched her across the jaw, following up with a kick. She was stunned and swung her guitar, but he grabbed it in the middle of her swing and broke it in half. "You're going to regret that, dipstick!" Ember snarled, her hair flaming. She fired a blast at Danny, who easily blocked it with a pink shield.

Danny charged at her again, hitting her with a ghost stinger. She screamed in pain as she tried to get away, but was unable to break his grip. Ember gave him a look of surprise; the dipstick had never done anything like this before. It scared her, but at the same time… she found it hot.

Once he was satisfied that she was no longer a threat, he turned to Skulker, who was nearly frantic from the effort of trying to repel his duplicates. He slammed into him, firing an ecto-blast that badly charred his suit. "How are you doing this, ghost child?" Skulker wondered. "It doesn't matter; I will have your pelt!"

"Give it up, Skulker!" One of the Dannys said, kicking him in his metallic gut. Skulker dodged an ecto-blast, but another Danny fired behind him, knocking him off course.

"You can't beat me!" the second declared.

"I'm too powerful for either of you!" The third bragged. Two of them sent a powerful shock through his armor, beginning to fry the systems. He managed to free himself and launch a few shots of his own, but they barely harmed the duplicates.

"And I've grown tired of having to deal with you almost every day!" the fourth exclaimed, blasting him from behind. Danny had difficulty controlling all of them at once, but Skulker was badly outmatched and wouldn't last much longer. Many of his systems were offline and few of his weapons could still do anything. He took evasive action, flying through the onslaught and tried to fire his strongest weapon, only to find that he didn't have enough power left to use it.

"It's over, Skulker." Danny exclaimed, all four of them firing their beam at once. His suit of armor was almost immediately torn to pieces, leaving the tiny ghost stuck in the head, trying to free himself. Danny recalled his duplicates and flew down to the ground. He grabbed the ghost and held it in his hand. "All right, Skulker, I don't ever want to see you in Amity Park again. If you decide to come after me, it won't end well for you, understand?" Skulker gulped and nodded his understanding. Danny let him go and he fled towards the ghost portal (although now very quickly, now that his suit was gone).

"How did you do that?" Ember asked in shock.

"I decided to stop holding back." Danny replied. "The same goes for you, Ember."

"Don't tell me what to do, dipstick!" Ember snapped. She couldn't help but be a bit attracted to this new Danny, though. She flew off, Danny making sure she didn't cause any more damage. However, she was in no real condition to do so. Once he decided she was no longer a threat for the time being, he let her go. Once the fight was over, the sick feeling in his stomach returned.

* * *

He had spent the past 4 days feeling extremely guilty for his actions. Jazz had spent most of her time at home, alternately crying, moping, or snapping. She wasn't even studying that much, which more than anything else told Danny she was seriously upset. She spent a lot of her time at the dorm, telling him she didn't want him around.

"So did you have any luck?" Tucker wondered once he got back to his house.

"The instant he saw me, he started screaming." Danny admitted. "He looked about ready to hit me, but just slammed the door instead." Honestly, he couldn't blame him; it wasn't like his accusations were wrong. Was he really like Johnny 13? He wasn't a ghost, that he realized, but it didn't mean he was going to trust him.

"Okay, I'll give it a try." Tucker offered. "Maybe I'll have better luck. You may as well come along; I know you're going to spy on us."

"You know it." Danny smirked. Besides, this might give him an idea of just how genuine Tristan was.

Tucker walked over to his home at a brisk pace, but was still too slow for Danny. When he sat the opportunity, he picked Tucker up and turned him invisible, allowing them to reach his home at a much faster pace. He dropped him off near Tristan's door and waited as Tucker knocked.

He knocked quite insistently before a furious Tristan answered, ready to shout at the top of his lungs. His face softened a little bit when he saw who it was, though. "Hello, Tucker." Tristan greeted, still a little snappishly. "What can I do for you?"

"We need to talk, now." Tucker sped past him, Danny following.

"Nice to see you too," Tristan remarked dryly.

"It's been four days; shouldn't you be talking to Jazz by now?" Tucker inquired.

"Look, I really don't want to talk about this." Tristan snapped. "If you came here to play video games or hang out, fine, but I don't want to talk about my relationship."

"Too bad; you're going to talk." Tucker snapped back.

"And why would I be so inclined to do that?" Tristan stated, crossing his arms. Danny had to resist the urge to blast him where he stood.

"Maybe because she's your girlfriend, because you seem to matter a great deal to her!" Tucker exclaimed.

"Yeah, I sure saw that. She cared about me so much, she let me get carted off to jail without a word, thanks to Samantha and her boyfriend."

"She also got you out!"

"Then why didn't she speak up in the first place?" Tristan screamed. At the moment, he felt like never talking to her again. "I would have said something if that was her being carted off!"

"Look, Tristan, she was shocked! So was I! Neither of us believed Sam would do that!" Tucker and Sam were still friends, but there were now major strains on the relationship. _Wonder if she realizes that she just proved what he said. _Tucker wondered. He was inclined to doubt it.

"I expected better from Jasmine! I didn't expect it from you, since you've known Samantha for a long time, but she should have spoken up!" He had told Jazz the same thing a few days ago.

"Dude, calm down! There's no reason to be mad at her and certainly no reason to ignore her! She told me she's tried to call you a dozen times, but you never pick up!"

"I don't want to talk to her. I don't want to hear her excuses. I'm tired of listening to people's excuses. They apologize, I forgive them, and sooner or later, they screw me over again. I'm quite accustomed to the pattern by now. I'm also used to people like Samantha and Danny. They think it's real amusing to do this kind of shit to me." Danny was a little startled. Just where had that come from?

"Maybe you should give Jazz more credit than that. She loves you, Tristan; she's broken up and terrified that you're going to break up with her." Danny felt anger, both at Tristan and at himself.

"Yep, I've heard that claim before too." Tristan knew he was being foolish, but he stubbornly held course. If she really loved him, she would have said something… right? "Why stick up for the one you claim to love? After all, it's so much easier to simply watch!"

"It's not a claim; it's true!" Tucker was really losing patience with his new friend.

"Wouldn't surprise me if Sam's having a big laugh at all of this; for all I know, Jasmine's just saying nothing. I doubt she'll laugh, but no, Sam's far too important, so why not just shove me aside?" Danny wanted to vaporize Tristan for that. How dare he say that about his sister?

"You should know her better than that!"

"She betrayed me!"

Tristan dragged him to the couch and all but threw him onto it. He started typing on his PDA and flashed it at him. "Does this look like someone who doesn't care?" Tucker had secretly taken a picture of Jazz crying her eyes out. She'd probably kill him, but he hoped that it would get it through his stubborn head. "This is how she's been for the last 4 days!"

For the first time, Tristan began to soften and guilt began to fill his body. "She's really this upset?" He didn't anyone would get that upset over him, except maybe his parents.

"Yes, she's that upset, Tristan! Now get over this persecution complex you have and call her! I know people have treated you like shit in the past, people have betrayed you, but Jazz is better than that. You should know that."

"Why do you say that? Did she tell you that?" His anger rekindled and he pulled Tucker by his shirt, starting to choke him. Danny glared at him, ready to intervene if necessary.

"She didn't tell me anything, you idiot!" Now Tucker was seriously pissed. "It's obvious just by talking to you! Maybe you don't realize this, but you're not hard to read."

"Yeah, how do I know that?"

"You know what? I think you're right; you don't deserve her, not if you're treating her this way. You're telling me what she did to you? How about taking a good look at what you're doing to her! You told me repeatedly how much you care about her, that you love her, yet you screamed at her, accused her, and refuse to talk to her! What kind of boyfriend does that?"

Tristan, for a wonder, found himself lost for words. He stayed silent for several moments before speaking out. "I've really screwed up, haven't I?"

"Yes, Tristan, you have. Now make it right and call her!" He handed him his Smartphone.

"Are you sure she'll…"

"Call her!" Tucker interrupted. He dialed Jazz's phone number and waited for someone to pick up. It was answered almost immediately.

"Jazz? It's Tristan." Tristan answered. "Look, can we meet at the park? There's something I need to tell you. Okay, can we meet there in about 30 minutes. It's good to hear from you too. Bye." He handed the phone back to Tucker.

"Dude, you were supposed to apologize to her!"

"That's what I'm doing!" Tristan protested. "I think it'd be more meaningful if I said it in person than if I just said it over the phone. Saying it that way seems too… indifferent."

"You know, she's going to be dreading the whole day now. I'm sure part of her is going to think you're breaking up with her."

"Crap, I didn't think of that!" _Just how stupid are you, Tristan? Wait, haven't you proved that pretty damn well?_

"Just don't keep her waiting." Tucker sighed.

"I don't intend to; thanks! And…Tucker, sorry about grabbing you by the shirt like that."

"I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to; go!" Tristan sped out of the house. Tucker and Danny heard someone wake up and decided that they better do the same.

"You sure I'm doing the right thing here?" Danny wondered. "I think he genuinely cares for Jazz, but he's done this once. What if he ends up hurting her again?"

"Well, I'll give him another kick in the ass, then." Tucker promised. "He's not a bad person, really; just needs to get over this persecution complex of his."

"Doesn't mean I have to be friends with him," Danny snapped. "I may try to keep him from my sister anymore, but it doesn't mean I'm going to be all buddy-buddy."

"I wouldn't expect you to; just try to get along with him." Tucker sighed.

* * *

"Hi, Jazz, thanks for meeting me here." Tristan greeted his (hopefully still) girlfriend in the park. He wanted to meet with her in private. He couldn't afford any interruptions.

"No problem." Jazz replied a bit nervously. What was Tristan going to do?

"Boy, how do I even begin?" Tristan sighed, collecting his thoughts. _Just say it! _He started speaking again. "I'm sorry, Jazz. I shouldn't have lashed out at you the way I did. It wasn't your fault; you were just trying to help, and I apologize for treating you that way." After the conversation was over, Tristan was feeling enormously guilty over what he had done to her.

"I was half-afraid you were going to hit me. You looked so pissed." Jazz admitted to herself. She knew it wasn't logical, but he was still bigger than she was and didn't realize he could get that angry.

"I'd never hit you, Jasmine, no matter how mad I was." Tristan promised. She really thought he would do that? He screwed up even worse than he thought.

"I know, but it was still scary." Jazz sighed. She hoped never to see him that angry again.

"Suppose I can understand that; I'm bigger than you, I'm weird, so naturally I'm violent. Jazz, you're talking to someone who was taught not to hit girls from the time he could walk." He couldn't help some bitterness leaking into his tone. If even she had that cross her mind, was he ever going to escape it?

"I know, you've told me." Jazz interjected before an argument could start. "Just try to control yourself a little better."

"True; you're not the one who deserved to be yelled at."

"Where'd you get that bruise from?" Jazz wondered. She noticed that a couple of knuckles on his left hand were black.

"Punched a wall," Tristan admitted.

"Why?" She asked in a shocked voice. Didn't he know that he could break his hand doing that?

"Furious with myself when I realized what I did," Tristan explained. On the way to meet her, he punched both a wall and a lamppost. "I suppose Tucker's right about this persecution complex."

"Well, now we're good. So please don't destroy the walls." _I don't want you hurt, Tristan! _

"Good point; we just got the last hole I punched patched over. Remember some of the questions you've asked me? I think it's about time to tell you." Tristan hoped this would help prove to her that he trusted her and still wanted her in his life.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to"

"It's meant to show you that I trust you."

"Okay then."

"You wanted to know who my real father is. My biological father... was a monster." _That's putting it mildly. _He thought. When he first learned about it all those years ago, he couldn't believe it. It just didn't fit with what he knew of him. _As it turns out, I didn't know him at all. _

"A monster as in abusive, a killer, or really ugly?" Jazz wondered if his father abusing him played a part in the reason he wasn't social or had this idea that people were out to get him.

"He never did anything to me, mom, or my twin. He was great as a father, but... he lived a double life." Tristan was starting to feel weak. Was it really a good idea to tell her this? He loved her, but how would she react? Would she really accept him after he told her the truth? However, he knew honesty was an important part in the relationship and decided it was better than she hear it from him than learn it on her own.

"Twin? And did he have another family?" Jazz had heard stories of men who had two different families, neither of them suspecting anything.

"Worse. Just please don't judge me based on him; I'm scared to death that it's what will happen." _Since that's the usual response. _None of his friends at the time stood by him and indeed, a couple of them became his worst tormentors.

"What your father did has nothing to do with you. I'll still love you the same. Just that...I don't think I want to meet your dad." Jazz knew it definitely wasn't anything good if he was this frightened.

"Damn right. He was a serial rapist, with about 15 victims and those are just the ones that the police know of. I... based a couple of the stories in my book on them." It helped force him to deal with the reality of what his father was. Even after so much time, there was a small part of his mind that simply refused to believe it. He remembered him as kind and loving, who hugged his kids, who played catch with his son, who comforted them when their schoolmates teased them.

Jazz paused for a long time, while Tristan struggled to keep himself together. He hoped he made the right decision by telling her, but was she going to judge him based on his father, despite her promise not to? "Whoa. That's scary. Which stories?" Jazz leaned into his chest and looked up at him. "Protect me from him?"

"He's been dead for 10 years. Before the trial was scheduled to begin, he skipped bail and ran. Someone apparently found him, since his body was found a few days later. A lot of the injuries were one they couldn't explain, but they resemble ecto-burns I've seen in Amity Park." That was his best guess, at least. However, he wondered why a ghost would go after him. Of course, one of the victims committed suicide, so it could have been her. He knew very little of supernatural occurrences.

"No offense, but kind of glad he's dead. A guy like that shouldn't be running around." Despite herself, Jazz was a little shaken. Of all the things she expected, it certainly wasn't this! In a way, she could understand why some people would judge him based on that, but she knew Tristan well enough to know he wouldn't hurt her.

"Agreed; he got what he deserved, but ever since, people have hated me. They think I'll be just like him."

"You're too sweet to be like him."

"Thank you, Jazz. I love you and I'm glad to have you in my life." Tristan sat down on the grass, while Jazz snuggled into his chest and smiled.

"I love you too. You're one of the best things to ever happen to me."

"And to me. What's that in your backpack? One of your parent's devices?"

"Yeah, the Fenton Thermos. Traps ghosts. Something on your mind?"

"I'd ask your parents for a device, but I think they'd just hope I died." _More like shove me in front of a ghost's attack and hope it killed me._

"I can get you one. I'll tell them Emma wanted one for safety. In reality, she'll probably beat the ghosts up if it involves them taking her food." Emma could be pretty crazy when it came to food, especially chocolate. Jazz chuckled at a memory of her literally on her knees screaming when she arrived at the store 5 minutes too late to buy any.

"Thanks for the advance warning. Besides, I'm about due for another near-death experience."

"It better be near death and not your death. I want to be with you for a long time." Another near-death experience? Were those normal for him? She knew her brother was in danger almost daily from fighting ghosts, although the risk had decreased over time.

"Thanks and I want to be with you. I've just come close to drowning 3 times and gotten into 2 big car wrecks." Even now, he was still nervous when it came to bodies of water. He refused to try and swim underwater without goggles to cover his eyes and nose. A thought came to his mind and he was tempted to ask Jazz, but was this the right time in the relationship to do so?

"Lots of death experiences? I only had one, and it was nearly being killed by a ghost turkey when I was seven." Well, that wasn't exactly, true, either, but much as she loved him, she couldn't tell him about what she, her brother, and his friends did on a regular basis. Of course, after what happened, the Ghost Getters had all but disbanded. "What's wrong?"

"Do I even want to know about that one?"

"Not really. What's on your mind?" Jazz wasn't about to let him evade it.

"Hopefully, I'll still be alive when this conversation is over. Have you ever... been with anyone?" Tristan tried to keep himself calm.

"Been with as in dating?" Jazz knew exactly what he meant, but wanted to hear it from his own mouth.

"As in, have you ever slept with anyone?"

"Once...you?" Well, one partner, anyway. They had slept together quite a few times. Nobody else ever know about that, not even her parents.

"No, I haven't. I'm sure plenty of people would be surprised. 21 years old and a virgin..." He had talked to plenty of people on the internet and when he mentioned it, the response was generally complete surprise. Or immediately laughing at him for being a nerd.

"I think it's kind of sweet. Saving it for somebody special instead of nailing the first girl you see." It kind of surprised her too, admittedly. _He's really a virgin? I would have thought someone as dreamy as him would have had some experience by now._

"I'm not one that thinks I should wait for marriage, but it's also not a decision to be made lightly." This was something that had him pegged for attack by both religious zealots and people who believed in "free love." _Fools. You're fighting the strongest human instinct we have, save perhaps survival, and it sometimes trumps even that. _

"Exactly; I dated that guy for a while before we...you know." Jazz had dated him for about 7 months before they decided to take the step in their relationship.

"Decided to go for the final step? When was it?"

"Senior year of high school." Jazz admitted.

"I hope you parted on good terms."

"Yeah, it was mutual."

"Was it one of those relationships that fall apart after graduation?"

"Pretty much," They were going to different colleges hundreds of miles apart and it would be next to impossible to meet, so they decided to break it off. The two of them still talked and even met on occasion.

"I was just wondering because I think this is a talk all couples have to have sooner or later." However nerve-wracking it was for him, he knew it was a question that had to be asked.

"Very true; especially since we've been dating for 4 months." Jazz admitted to herself that Tristan had apparently gotten more courageous over time. In the past, he would have never asked her anything of the sort.

"And this has developed into a serious relationship, and it's possible that at same time in the future, we might sleep together." Tristan realized what he had just said and started to stammer. "Uh...I'm not propositioning you! I'm just... aware of the possibility."

"I think we will one day, because, well, we both love each other." Secretly, Jazz was a little disappointed at that. She understood that he was trying to be respectful, but a greater and greater part of her wanted him.

"Of course. Still, I doubt it'll be anything like the perfect occasion the way romance novels seem to portray it. I've never done it before and while I understand the theory, I've never... put it into practice. Am I making you mad?" This wasn't a sort of conversation he had much experience with and knew he should probably move more cautiously, but Tristan had never been good at holding things back.

"I don't care what it's like, cause it will be with you. And I'd only be mad if we did this without talking about it." Jazz was once again grateful for his (usual) maturity. She was quite aware that a real first time bore little resemblance to romance novels. Jazz was grateful that she had a partner that was patient with her and would do the same for Tristan.

"Point taken. It's why I decided to ask you... before we did anything and hope you didn't become inclined to kill me."

"That's good."

"Just please don't tell your family; I want to grow old." Her parents already didn't like him. Tristan shuddered to think how they'd react if they learned he had gotten intimate with Jasmine. He ran his hand up and down her thigh, looking down at her and smiling.

"I won't."

"Appreciate it. Has Emma teased you about this?" It wouldn't surprise him in the least.

"All the time. Especially since you first visited my dorm." _More like relentlessly ask me why I haven't slept with you yet. Sigh, I'm glad I didn't lose you._

"So she's one of the perverted types? She can't believe that I invited you to my house and didn't do anything but cuddle." Tristan knew his sister would react the same way. He still talked with her on occasion, but never mentioned anything to her about a relationship.

"Pretty much."

"Well... I'd be lying if I said that wasn't on my mind. I just didn't want to push you." He figured he may as well be honest about it. It wasn't like she wasn't aware of it, anyway.

"Well maybe next time if we're alone." Jazz smiled and kissed him, sitting in his lap with her arms around him. She ran her hand through his hair and looked into his eyes. _His beautiful blue eyes…_

"Just don't want to treat you like I consider you just a slut, though I admit my definition is a little unconventional." _You know, if me and her ever have kids, all of them are going to have blue eyes. Wait, why am I thinking about kids?_

"You treat me like a queen already." Jazz reminded him.

"Of course; you are a queen. Admittedly, not a literal one, to the best of my knowledge, but you're a queen to me."

"You're too sweet. How did I get you again?"

"I paid for your coffee; you were 2 dollars short. You thanked me and I showed you my book." It was a rhetorical question, but Tristan tended to answer those, whether she expected an answer or not.

"True."

"I'll bet that Emma started making fun of you the instant you got home."

"Almost a duh."

"A roommate would hate having me, since I tend to wander around at night. I have weird sleeping hours, especially since I got fired." Ever since he was a little kid, he had stayed up half the night and slept in until close to noon. He had tried to fix it many times in the past, with no success.

"I'm sorry." She was pretty sure of what the reason was.

"Yeah, well, they apparently missed the message that the charges were dropped. Said they didn't want the bad publicity. Damned bitch! Sorry, I know she's your friend."

"You mean Sam? Hmp, not anymore," Jazz had shouted at Sam repeatedly over the past few days. Sam still justified her actions, in spite of everything, and with feeling brokenhearted over the fight they had, she lost it and tore into her. Danny stayed out of it completely, not wanting to attack her, but after everything, no longer willing to defend her, either. Tucker was nearly as angry as Jazz and did the same thing.

"Under normal circumstances, I'd apologize, but I think you're better off without her. What did Tucker and Danny say?"

"No idea. I'm too pissed at Danny right now, but Tucker's on your side." He laid down on the grass, Jazz lying next to him, her fingers moving along his chest.

"Well, Tucker gave me a kick in the ass this morning." Tristan admitted.

"Ow," Jazz winced.

"Not literally. He just said I needed to stop being a stubborn asshole."

"Ah."

"Well, he was right." It took a while for him to realize it, but he was.

"Really?"

"Yeah, he told me how upset you were and it was my fault."

"It wasn't all your fault, believe me." Jazz told him. Still, she had to admit… "Just mostly your fault."

"Yeah, real reassuring; Damned Samantha. Oh, well, let her protest. The more she screams, the more money I make. Ha ha!" Jazz laughed with him and placed herself on top of him, smothering him.

"Speaking of which, getting fired gave me time to concentrate on a new story I'm writing. I should be finished in a couple months." It was another controversial story, but Tristan had to admit to himself, he enjoyed writing them. If nothing else, it got his novels attention.

"I get sneak peeks, right?" Jazz batted her eyes at him. His hands were on her back, making small circles.

"Wrong!" Tristan teased. "At least for now; I'm not done with it."

"Well if I can't get sneak peeks then you need to at least set aside some of that extra free time with me."

"I do have about another 50 pages to write, so not sure if I can squeeze you in." Tristan teased back. Just in case she took him literally, he hastened to add: "Just kidding! I'll be happy to spend time with you."

"Haha, you better have time for me."

"Always, Jasmine," Tristan promised. "So... is there anywhere you want to go for our next date?"

"Not sure. Wherever is fine. We can always just hang around. Emma's visiting her parents this weekend." Jazz was wondering if he'd get the hint.

Evidently, he didn't, for he replied: "I was hoping you'd have some suggestions; don't want a repeat of what happened at the gym."

"Anyplace you want to go?"

"What kind of interests do you have that you haven't told me about? There's a movie coming out that seems promising."

"What movie is that? And I like gymnastics and yoga, but I doubt you'd like to go do that. I also read a lot."

"It's _The Dark Knight_, that new Batman movie. One of the only good movies out, unfortunately. By the way, I have a story that you might find funny."

"Tell me?"

"I saw the second Alien vs Predator film in theaters last year. Let me tell you, it plain sucked! It's probably the worst movie I've ever seen. In the middle of the film, I literally screamed to one of the characters: 'come on, die already!" Jazz couldn't help laughing at that. "I was booted from the theater; didn't exactly break my heart. Learn from my mistake; never watch that movie." Tristan was hoping to spare her from that nightmare. Jazz landed fully on top of him, while he smiled at the warmth.

"Nice."

"I must say, I really enjoy being around you, Jasmine. You're a big improvement over my last interest, although I admit that's a dubious compliment." _I wonder if you'd believe how crazy she was. It'd be almost like out of a comic book._

"I accept that compliment."

"Good to hear. Beautiful day, isn't it, especially when I'm looking at you."

"Aww," Jazz always loved it when he complimented her.

"It's why I chose the park. I wanted to talk to you privately; figured someone might take pictures and post them on the internet."

"Happens all the time," Jazz understood.

"Exactly; Tucker showed me a photo of your brother wearing a dress."

"Oh, I have extra copies of that for blackmail," Jazz giggled, suddenly moving off to hunt through her purse. "I think I have a few you can have."

"How did that happen, anyway?"

"No idea."

"Any humiliating photos of Samantha?" Those were ones that he really wanted to see. Maybe he could pay her back for getting him wrongfully arrested.

"No, but I have a picture of Tucker dressed like Sam."

"Then he has my sympathy."

"Same here," Jazz chuckled, producing the pictures.

"That reminds me. I'm going somewhere with him tomorrow. They apparently have the day off at his school because of a ghost attack, so we're playing paintball." Tristan had proposed it, hoping to use the paintball gun he bought over 4 years ago and never got around to using.

"Sounds painful," Jazz admitted.

"Yeah, for him," Tristan bragged. Truthfully, he wasn't real skilled at aiming, but hopefully, he would at least be able to give others a challenge.

"True," she kissed his forehead and lips.

"Let's see; what useless bits of information and horrifying opinions shall I tell you now?" Tristan grinned

"Know anything bout ghosts?" Jazz wondered.

"Not much. I've read a little bit about the energy content of different types of ectoplasm. Even the weakest form has a great deal of energy."

"Just talk to my dad."

"Well, apparently green ectoplasm, which makes up about 90 percent of it, has close to 600 megajoules per kilogram. To put this in perspective, a kilogram of TNT has about 4.2 megajoules and i would talk to him, but I'm not obsessive about ghosts and he'd kill me."

"Weird question, but do you know what my definition of a slut is?"

"No. What is it?"

"It has nothing to do with promiscuity. My definition is someone who uses sex or the promise of it to manipulate. You know anyone like that?"

"Yeah," She knew several people like that, Paulina sticking in her mind the most.

"Kind of like that girl I saw the first time we went bowling. I went on a date with her once."

"Paulina?" Jazz admitted that she was surprised at that realization. He was willing to go out on a date with her? Still, maybe he didn't know her well at the time.

"Yep, she asked me out and I ended up saying yes. About halfway through the date, I overheard her telling her friends how easy it was to string me along. Apparently they had quite the laugh."

"I'm sorry." When Jazz heard that, the first thing she wanted to do was hunt Paulina down. _How dare she do that to him? She's going to pay for that!_

"You get used to it. She's hardly the first person to do that."

"I would never do that to you." It disturbed her more than a little that her boyfriend said that. Did he originally think the same of her?

"I know, Jazz. I'm grateful to have you as a girlfriend. I honestly didn't think I'd ever find anyone. Pretty much gave up until I met you."

"Well, I got lucky with you."

"I know it sounds like something out of a bad romance story, but it's true. And I definitely got lucky when i found a certain intelligent, kind, beautiful woman." He grinned up at her.

"Well I got a genius, kind, sweet and generous boyfriend that also happens to be a cutie." She planted her lips on his, her tongue exploring his mouth. His mouth fought back, refusing to allow her to be dominant. Jazz pinned his wrists to the ground. Had he wanted it, he could have broken free, but he was little inclined to do so. Jazz nibbled on his bottom lip before pulling away. She climbed off him and got into a sitting position.

"Thank you; never get tired of hearing that."

"Who would?"

"A lot of the time, people who describe my appearance tend to be less than complimentary." He was trying to think of a polite way of saying that when it came to appearance, the remarks tended to resemble "Fat piece of shit".

"They're idiots." It didn't matter what they thought; he was very attractive to her. Tristan set his head in her lap, looking up at her as she stroked his face.

"And I've lost a good deal of weight in the past couple years."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I used to be about 280 pounds." Even now, he still couldn't believe he let himself go to that degree.

"Whoa"

"Drowned my sorrows in soda and candy. Eventually realized what I'd done and started going to the gym, lifting weights, going for walks, etc. I'm down to about 235 now." Even that was not an easy task. Unfortunately, he had recently plateaued, as people on diets had frequently done.

"Nice!" Jazz complimented.

"Thanks; my goal is to be at 210 by the end of the year. Besides, I want to look attractive for you." His arm went around her waist.

"It doesn't matter to me. You're cute no matter what."

"Aww, I knew there was a reason I loved you."

"Love you too"

Tristan removed himself from her lap and stood up. "Afraid I have to go, Jazz. Dad wants me to help him with the reenactment. Should have left earlier, but I really enjoy spending time with you."

"I love being with you. And reenactment?" Jazz hadn't known he was a part of that.

"He works for a volunteer group and they're helping at a Civil War reenactment. Wasn't too happy with me at the last one. Apparently saying "cough up the green" isn't the proper way to greet the customers." Jazz laughed loudly at that. "Bye, Jasmine. I hope to give you a call before I go to sleep."

"You better. Nah, just kidding, but I've love a call."

"I love you, Jasmine. Don't forget that." Tristan pulled her into a tight hug as she buried her head in his shoulder. She had to admit, things had really changed in her life during the past few months. Things were a bit chaotic at the moment. She figured she would start speaking with her brother again in a day or two, but it would take a long time to forgive him. Far as she was concerned, things were over between her and Sam.

"Love you too Tristan." She felt a pang of disappointment as he let her go.

"Do you need a ride anywhere?" He offered.

"Sure, I'd like one." She leaned against him as they walked out of the park.


End file.
